Suspected militants on a motorbike threw grenades at a mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least three Islamic preachers and wounding 18 others, officials said Friday.
The attack happened on the outskirts of Peshawar, the gateway to Pakistan's troubled tribal regions where security forces have been battling Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.
“Two attackers came on a motorbike and hurled grenades at a mosque soon after a preaching group arrived there late on Thursday night,” Rahim Shah, a senior police official, told AFP.
“At least three people were killed and 18 others got wounded. Two of them are serious,” he said.
Shah said that a group of 25 preachers had arrived in the area to organize Islamic teaching sessions.
Many Pakistanis go on preaching missions in and outside the country to promote Islamic teachings among Muslims and non-Muslims. They travel in groups and stay at mosques for several days.
Another police official said that the attackers came from the semi-autonomous tribal region.
“They came from Khyber tribal district and fled towards that area after the attack,” Muhammad Ali, another local police official, told AFP.
Pakistan says more than 40,000 people have been killed in attacks by Al-Qaeda and Taliban-led militants in the last decade.
Washington considers the tribal belt as the main hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.
-
Pakistan nominates first film for Oscar in 50 years
Pakistan’s struggling film industry has put forward a film for the Oscars for the first time in half a century, officials said on Monday. This ... Entertainment -
NATO fuel tankers destroyed in Pakistan
At least nine tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan were destroyed after an explosion in one of the vehicles triggered a huge fire in ... Asia -
Protesters rally over rape of five-year-old girl in Pakistan
Rights campaigners staged protest rallies across Pakistan on Sunday against the rape of a five-year old girl in the eastern city of Lahore whose ... Asia