PAKISTAN-BLAST/ATTACK VIDEO Amvid shows attack on Shi'ite mosque in Pakistan that killed 19

Record ID: 355213

  • Title: PAKISTAN-BLAST/ATTACK VIDEO Amvid shows attack on Shi'ite mosque in Pakistan that killed 19
  • Date: 14th February 2015
  • Summary: PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN (FEBRUARY 14, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SHI'ITE MOSQUE WHERE ATTACK TOOK PLACE VARIOUS OF DEBRIS INSIDE MOSQUE WALL CLOCK STOPPED AT TIME OF FRIDAY PRAYERS
  • Embargoed: 1st March 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAJ7WFUFX7UUOQR3LLICR6SAKY
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
    A cell phone video emerged on Saturday (February 14) of a suicide attack on a Shi'ite mosque in Peshawar during Friday (February 13) prayers.
    Iqtidar Ali Akhunzada, a worshiper who made a recording, said that the Friday prayers were almost over when worshipers heard sounds of gun fire and saw armed men ran inside.
    "There were about four men. They came inside three or four times, shooting at the worshippers. They also hurled hand grenades. When a worshipper snatched the gun from one of them, the suicide bombers rushed in and one of them blew himself up. Then another attacker rushed in, as you can see in the video. He kept pressing the button on his suicide vest but it failed to work. He then went out onto the veranda and blew himself up. Worshippers caught hold of the third attacker and killed him in the veranda," Akhunzada said.
    At least 19 people were killed and dozens more injured, some critically, police said.
    "When the terrorists entered and started firing, I turned on the video camera on my mobile phone, because it was obvious that these attackers were not going to spare any worshipper. I was sure that they were not going to leave me alive also. I, therefore, decided that there should be some proof of the barbarity that was taking place here. That is why I kept my video camera on till the end. All this happened right in front of my eyes. It was totally barbaric," he said.
    Police said a group of armed men broke into the mosque, where people were attending Friday prayers, and opened fire, following which three explosions were heard inside the building.
    The Pakistani Taliban, who are fighting against the state to set up a hardline Sunni theocracy in Pakistan, claimed responsibility.
    The attack in the troubled northwestern city close to the Afghan border, is the latest sectarian attack to hit the South Asian nation.
    Radical Sunni Islamist groups often target mosques used by minority Shi'ites, whom they see as infidels.
    The attack came as Pakistan tries to adopt new measures to tackle Islamist militants following a massacre of 134 children on Dec. 16 at an army-run school in Peshawar.
    The government has pledged to crack down on all militant groups, and has reintroduced the death penalty, set up military courts to speed convictions and widened its military campaign in northwestern areas on the Afghan border where militants find refuge.
    Yet Pakistan's religious minorities, among them Ahmadis, Christians and Hindus, say the government is doing little to alleviate their daily struggle against humiliation, discrimination and violence.
    Last month, dozens of people were killed in a similar attack on a Shi'ite mosque in the southern town of Shikarpur.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register