Friday, June 12, 2009

Friday prayers in Nowshera hit by blast





NOWSHERA: Four people were killed and over a hundred injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a military-run mosque in Nowshera during Friday prayers.

The explosion smashed windowpanes of several nearby houses and gouged cracks in walls and floors. Several children and women were injured. The army and police carried out rescue work.

Law enforcement personnel cordoned off the area and started search operation. Bodies and injured people were retrieved from the rubble hours after the explosion.

A worshipper told Dawn the explosion took place at the moment when the Pesh Imam was reciting last Rakat of the prayer.

The deceased were identified as sepoy Abdul Hameed of Multan, Jawad, Ahmed Gul and contractor Allauddin.

The injured were taken to the Cantonment Hospital, DHQ Hospital and Peshawar CMH. A doctor at the DHQ hospital said 90 injured, 15 of them critical, were brought to the hospital.

Body parts, including the head and legs of the suicide bomber, recovered from the site of the blast and were sent for DNA test. Witnesses said blood stains and body parts were scattered all over the floor.

Several vehicles parked in front of the mosque were also damaged.

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