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| People gather at the blast site in northwest Pakistan's Hangu, Feb. 1, 2013. At least 22 people were killed and over 40 others injured as suicide bomber targeted people outside a mosque in the Pakistan's north-western district of Hangu on Friday afternoon, local media and police said. (Xinhua/Stringer) |
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 22 people were killed and over 40 others injured as suicide bomber targeted people outside a mosque in the Pakistan's north-western district of Hangu on Friday afternoon, local media and police said.
District Police Officer (DPO), Mian Muhammad Saeed told media that a suicide bomber exploded his explosives jacket outside a mosque when people were leaving after offering the Friday prayer in the Patt Bazar area of Hangu, a restive district of north- western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier reports said the attack was carried out by exploding a remote-controlled bomb that was fixed in a motorbike parked outside the mosque but later on DPO confirmed that it was a suicide blast.
Rescue workers told that at least 12 people were killed on the spot while 10 others succumbed to their injuries during their treatment in the District Hospital of Hangu.
Hospital sources said that over 40 others wounded were brought to the hospital while six out of them who were seriously injured had been shifted to the neighboring Kohat district for intensive care.
The Bomb Disposal Squad's analysis wing said that around seven to eight kilograms of explosives was used in the blast.
Soon after the grave incident, police and other security forces rushed to the site and cordoned off the area. All the exit points of the city were blocked and snap checking was ordered in the nearby areas.
No group or militant organization claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the incident and directed the hospital authorities to provide the proper medical treatment to the injured people besides ordering a prompt inquiry of the incident.
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