Bloodbath at Dir mosque

PESHAWAR - At least 42 worshippers were killed including 12 children, and dozens other injured, when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque during Juma prayers in remote area of Hayagai Sharqi of District Upper Dir. The faithful killed in the blast were reportedly anti-militants, the witnesses said on Friday.
The worshippers in the mosque hailed from surrounding areas where anti-militants feelings existed that led to this gory incident, sources told The Nation. The dwellers of the Hayagai Sharqi village had already formed an anti-militants “Lashkar” after seeing their growing influence in the area.
The prayer leader had just finished the Juma prayer when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive laden jacket in the verandah of the mosque. “The bomber was heading for the main hall of the mosque, jam- packed with worshippers. His target was the large number of prayers in the hall aimed at killing the maximum number of people. But other prayers in the verandah stopped the bomber, asking him why he was entering the hall when the congregation of Juma prayer had ended. The bomber said, “I want to meet one Bacha Mir, a local elder.” But when he was stopped he blew himself up, a prayer told this scribe by phone.
Around 42 precious lives of prayers perished which included 12 children, and many more sustained serious injuries. The names of some of the killed persons as identified included Bakht Bacha, Khaista Rehman, Juma Said, Taseer, Sajad, Waqar, Ahmed Jan, Fazl Rehman, Ghulam, Bacha Rehman, and Saleh Rehman. Three ill-fated persons Bakhat Bacha, Ahmed Jan and Fazl Rehman were killed along with their two sons each.
One of the survivors of this gory incident confirmed the rising up of the people against the Taliban’s spreading and their movement in Hayagai Sharqi area. He said that local people had established a check post on the main road and local armed persons were deployed to stop the entry of militants.