Two mosques in northern Pakistan were two separate attacks yesterday. The radical Islamist elected on Friday, the day that more Muslims attending mosques, they chose the peak traffic hours and pointed to one of the provinces of Pakistan, Peshawar, where the Taliban have more followers. The authors chose to attack two mosques frequented by the faithful who do not share the radical version of Islam. The result: At least 70 dead and hundreds injured.
At noon yesterday, a suicide bomber blow up a load of explosives in the mosque of the village of Akhur-wall, about 30 kilometers from Peshawar. At that time, there were 300 people in the building. The prayers were about to conclude.
Initial investigations had revealed that the suicide was not more than 17 years and the temple guards tried to stop him. Part of the roof collapsed and left a scene of blood, screams and cries: 65 dead (including 11 children) and hundreds injured.
Hours after five people were killed in another mosque on the outskirts of Peshawar when it was launched four hand grenades from the outside.
Early indications pointed to the objective of further attack was a tribal leader who had supported the Pakistani government in its crackdown of recent months to defeat the radical Islamists. Akhurwall is the village of Wali Mohammed, a tribal chief who in 2007 decided to organize a militia to fight the Taliban.
The Pakistani Taliban spokesman, Azam Tariq, told Agence France Presse that they are not responsible for the attack. "Our goals are never civilians," he said.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, said the insurgents have no respect "by any religion or belief", while asserting that his country would continue fighting against terrorism to "complete elimination."
Since the summer of 2007 have killed some 3,800 people in Pakistan, victims of 400 attacks mostly by suicide bombers Taliban allied with al Qaeda. One of the biggest massacres took place precisely in Peshawar in November last year. On that occasion, a car bomb killed a hundred people to operate in a market in this capital of northwest China.