By A1TV Pakistan Bureau Office
September 29, 2023 | Hangu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
HANGU — Two suicide bombers targeted a mosque inside a police station compound in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring 12 others, authorities said.
The attack occurred at a mosque located within the premises of the Doaba Police Station in Hangu district during Friday prayers, hours after a devastating suicide bombing struck an Eid Milad-un-Nabi gathering in Mastung, Balochistan.
According to local authorities, two attackers approached the police station compound and encountered security personnel near the entrance.
Police confronted the attackers, killing one of them during an exchange of fire before he could enter the mosque. The second attacker managed to reach the mosque and detonated his explosives.
The explosion caused part of the mosque structure to collapse while worshippers were inside.
Emergency and rescue teams rushed to the scene and began searching through the rubble for survivors.
Authorities said five people were killed and 12 others wounded, with a police officer among the dead.
Officials credited the police response at the entrance with preventing a potentially much higher death toll. Worshippers began evacuating after hearing the initial gunfire, reducing the number of people inside when the explosion occurred.
The attack came on a day of bloodshed across Pakistan.
Earlier Friday, a suicide bomber struck a religious gathering near a mosque in Mastung district of Balochistan, killing dozens of people who had assembled for an Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession.
The two attacks, occurring hundreds of kilometers apart on the same day, intensified concerns about Pakistan’s deteriorating security environment and the resurgence of militant violence.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the Hangu attack.
The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), denied involvement in the attacks.
Security was subsequently tightened around mosques and other sensitive locations as authorities investigated the bombings.
The Hangu attack also highlighted the continuing threat facing Pakistan’s police and other security personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where militant attacks had increased significantly following the breakdown of a ceasefire between the government and the TTP in late 2022.
The September 29 attacks in Hangu and Mastung became another grim reminder of the security challenges confronting Pakistan as the country simultaneously faced political uncertainty and a severe economic crisis.