The suicide bomber who killed 101 people at a mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar police headquarters was wearing a police uniform, a police official said Thursday.
The officers on duty "did not check him because he was in police uniform (...). It was a breach (in terms of) security", declared Moazzam Jah Ansari, head of the police from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, during a press conference.
The police have a "pretty precise idea" of his identity, having made the connection between his head, found at the scene of the explosion, and CCTV images.
“There is an entire network behind him,” Mr. Ansari added, explaining that Monday's attack was not planned by its sole author.
Hundreds of police were taking part in a prayer Monday afternoon at the police headquarters mosque when the blast occurred, causing a wall to collapse and crushing officers.
Authorities are investigating how a major security breach may have occurred in one of the city's most tightly controlled areas, home to intelligence and counterterrorism offices, neighboring the regional secretariat .
It is the deadliest attack in Pakistan for several years, and the worst since the upsurge in violence in the region after the capture of Kabul (Afghanistan) in 2021 by the Taliban.
02/02/2023 09:43:38 - Peshawar (Pakistan) (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
