Peshawar suicide bomber entered mosque dressed in police uniform, claims officer

A suicide bomber who killed 101 people at a mosque inside a major police facility in northwest Pakistans Peshawar city had disguised himself in a police uniform to sneak into the high security zone and was riding a motorcycle with a helmet and mask on a top police official said on ThursdayThe guards at the security checkpoint at the main entrance of the Police Lines area did not check the bomber dressed in police uniform and let him go inside Inspector General of Police of KhyberPakhtunkhwa Moazzam Jah Ansari told the media here The CCTV footage shows that the bomber entered the Police Lines area via Khyber Road he saidHe added that the attacker had also asked about the way to the mosque from a police officer The bomber asked a havaldar where the mosque was in Pashto language he said adding that the motorcycle registration number has been traced He said that the attacker was not an individual but rather had a whole network supporting him He said that the police were close to the terrorist network responsible for the bombingSources earlier said the security agencies have arrested 17 suspects involved in the devastating blast the deadliest attack on the security personnel in decades in Pakistan The arrests have been made from close vicinity of the Police Lines area where the mosque is located and the suspects were shifted to interrogation cell for investigation sources told PTI on condition of anonymityThe suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers on Monday in the mosque in the Police Lines area killing 101 people including 97 policemen and injuring more than 200 others The banned TehreekiTaliban Pakistan TTP claimed responsibility for the attackAnsari said that TNT explosives were used in the blast while explosive materials used to demolish buildings were also used No improvised explosive device IED was used in the blast as no crater was found on the ground Ansari said adding that 5 to 10 people were killed due to the explosion but the majority of people died as the roof caved in because it was not supported by any pillars in the hallThe headquarters of the Peshawar Police CounterTerrorism Department CTD Frontier Reserve Police FRP Elite Force and telecommunications department are also located near the blast siteAlso read 17 suspects held over Pakistan blastThe blast shocked residents in Peshawar once known as the city of flowersThe policemen took out a protest rally in Peshawar on Wednesday demanding fair and transparent investigation into the deadly bombing The speakers of the rally demanded formation of a joint Investigation team to probe the blast Warning anyone resorting to protest again will be fired from their job the IGP said the policemen are being misled by some quartersIt gives me pain when people mislead my children policemen and Im trying to address their problems Ansari said He urged policemen to fight out the terrorists and not to resort to protest demos The IGP also clarified that the rumours of a drone attack were falseWe will release all the details of where the conspiracy was hatched and who were the facilitators This is a security lapse on my part I dont want to put the blame on my officers he said We will take revenge of every deceased policeman and provide them justice he addedArmy chief Gen Asim Munir has vowed zero tolerance for terror groups and directed his generals to eliminate the threat of militancy In a statement Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the entire nation and institutions are united to eliminate the menace of terrorism Describing police as a front line force in the fight against terrorism the prime minister said that they will be further strengthened and equipped with modern weaponsSpeaking at a meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad on Wednesday Sharif expressed serious concerns over the resurgence of terrorist elements especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan The Prime Minister said that if immediate and effective steps were not taken the despicable incidents might spread to other parts of the countryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever