Peshawar church bombing

Last updated

Peshawar church bombing
Part of the Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Location Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Coordinates 34°00′19″N71°34′16″E / 34.0053°N 71.5712°E / 34.0053; 71.5712
Date22 September 2013
Target Christians
Attack type
Suicide bombings, Islamic terrorism, mass murder, religious hate crime
Weapons Suicide belts
Deaths127
Injured250
Perpetrators Jundullah
Assailants2 suicide bombers
Motive Religious discrimination in Pakistan, Persecution of Christians

On 22 September 2013, a twin suicide bombing took place at All Saints Church [1] in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which 127 people were killed and more than 250 injured.[ failed verification ] [2] [3] [4] It was the deadliest attack on the Christian minority in the history of Pakistan. [5]

Contents

Bombs

The two suicide bombers shot two security guards, killing one and injuring the other. Stopped by the police, one of the bombers detonated his device. The second bomber entered the church and detonated the bomb inside. [6] Another account tells that the suicide bomb blast occurred when the worshippers assembled for a free meal of rice near the front lawn of the church. [5] There were holes in the walls of the church and the windows of the nearby buildings were shattered by the intensity of the blasts. Bodies of the attackers were successfully identified and sent for examination. Their suicide vests were made with 6 kilograms (13 lb) of explosives inside. [6]

Perpetrators of the attack

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan-linked Islamist group Jundallah claimed responsibility for the attack. [7] [8] They said that the attack on Christians and non-Muslims will continue because they are the enemies of Islam [8] and that they will not stop until US drone attacks in Pakistan cease. [9] [10] [11] [12] However, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan denied any involvement in the incident and denied having any links with the perpetrators, saying that their affiliate is Jundul Hafsa, not Jundallah. [13]

Response of Pakistani Christians

Christians residing near the church went to the streets and started protesting by burning tires and shouting slogans. Many shops were shut in the Kohati Gate area, which is home to many other churches. [8] There were protest rallies in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and other cities to condemn the killing. There were also clashes reported in Karachi between angry protestors and police. [14]

Christian communities in Pakistan lamented "the dying future for Christians in Pakistan" given this was another in a series of recent attacks. In March, hundreds of Christians were persecuted by Islamic zealots over allegations of blasphemy against Islam, a crime under Pakistani law. [15]

Reactions

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and said terrorists have no religion and that targeting innocent people is against the teachings of Islam. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistani Taliban</span> Islamist militant organization operating along the Durand Line

The Pakistani Taliban, formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current leader is Noor Wali Mehsud, who has publicly pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban share a common ideology with the Afghan Taliban and have assisted them in the 2001–2021 war, but the two groups have separate operation and command structures.

The 2009 Jamrud mosque bombing occurred on 27 March 2009, in Jamrud, Pakistan in the Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas during Friday prayers. The local police immediately claimed a casualty count of 48 while adding that the death toll could reach as high as 70. A hundred wounded were also taken to hospital. It was reported that about 250 worshippers were present during prayer time.

On April 5, 2010, two bombings in Pakistan killed up to 50 people and injured 100 more. In the first attack the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar was attacked by militants. The coordinated attack involved a vehicle suicide bomb and attackers who tried to enter the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar by using grenades and weapons fire. Three explosions went off within a span of 15 minutes in the area of Saddar and Hayatabad Avenue, near the American consulate and the Peshawar headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence agency. Several militants came in two vehicles. The first vehicle exploded near a security checkpoint, and gunmen in the second car opened fire. A Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan spokesman claimed responsibility for the assault on the consulate. In Timergara, Lower Dir district an Awami National Party rally came under attack. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq said "Americans are our enemies. We carried out the attack on their consulate in Peshawar. We plan more such attacks."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jundallah (Pakistan)</span> Baloch militant organization operating in Balochistan, Pakistan

Jundallah was a militant group associated with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The group was commanded by militant Hakimullah Mehsud, the Emir of TTP, until his death on 1 November 2013. Ahmed Marwat was the spokesman of the group. On 17 November 2014, a group spokesman told Reuters that it had vowed allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, after a meeting with a three-man delegation from the group. In January 2017, the Government of Pakistan imposed, interalia, a ban on Jundullah and other splinter groups that claimed responsibility for terror attacks.

This is a list of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the calendar year 2011.

In 2008, Pakistan saw 40 terrorist attacks, which caused 154 fatalities and 256 injuries.

In 2009, Pakistan suffered 50 terrorist, insurgent and sectarian-related incidents that killed 180 people and injured 300.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2012. Pakistan has faced numerous attacks by insurgents as a result of the ongoing War in North-West Pakistan by the Pakistani military against militant groups, part of the War on Terror. At the same time, there have also been numerous drone attacks in Pakistan carried out by the United States which exclusively target members of militant groups along the Afghan border regions.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2013. Some of the incidents are sectarian in nature and the TTP is responsible for a majority of them.

Events in the year 2014 in Pakistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Pakistan.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaat-ul-Ahrar</span> Organization

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar was a terrorist organization that split away from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in August 2014. The group came to prominence after it claimed responsibility for the 2014 Wagah border suicide attack. In August 2020, it merged back to TTP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lahore church bombings</span> 2015 church bombings in Lahore, Pakistan

On 15 March 2015, two explosions took place at Roman Catholic Church and Christ Church during Sunday service in Youhanabad, Lahore, Pakistan. At least 15 people were killed and seventy were wounded in the attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Sufis</span>

Persecution of Sufis over the course of centuries has included acts of religious discrimination, persecution, and violence both by Sunni and Shia Muslims, such as destruction of Sufi shrines, tombs and mosques, suppression of Sufi orders, murder, and terrorism against adherents of Sufism in a number of Muslim-majority countries. The Republic of Turkey banned all Sufi orders and abolished their institutions in 1925, after Sufis opposed the new secular order. The Islamic Republic of Iran has harassed Sufis, reportedly for their lack of support for the government doctrine of "governance of the jurist".

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2017 include, in chronological order:

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is a codename of a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017. The operation is aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It is further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation is ongoing active participation from Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 operations have been carried out against terrorists so far. This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2018 include:

Haroon Ahmed Bilour was a Pakistani politician from Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was the son of renowned politician Bashir Ahmed Bilour. He was killed in a suicide bombing during a party meeting in Peshawar on 10 July 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Peshawar mosque bombing</span> Suicide attack in Pakistan

The 2023 Peshawar mosque bombing was a terrorist attack that killed 84 people on 30 January 2023, at around 1:30 p.m. PKT, in the city of Peshawar, in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The mosque is located inside a high-security compound that includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and a counterterrorism department. At the time of the bombing, between 300 and 400 police officers were offering their Zuhr prayers.

References

  1. "Suicide bombers attack historic church in Peshawar, 60 killed". Zee News . 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  2. "GHRD: Article". Global Human Rights Defense. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  3. "40 die in Pakistan bombing". BBC News. 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  4. "Twin church blasts claims 66 lives in Peshawar". Dawn. 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Suicide bomb attack kills 60 at Pakistan church". Associated Press via The Los Angeles Times . 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Twin church blasts claim 78 lives in Peshawar". Dawn. 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  7. Craig, Tim; Nawaz Khan, Haq (22 September 2013). "Dozens killed as suicide bombers attack Christian worshipers in Pakistan". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 "Twin suicide bomb attacks on Pakistan church kill at least 56". Reuters . 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  9. Pakistan church blast kills dozens Archived 23 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine BBC 22 September 2013
  10. Bloodbath at Peshawar church Nation 22 September 2013
  11. In deadliest attack on Pakistani Christians, Taliban kill 70 in historic Peshawar church Archived 11 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Times of India
  12. "Pakistan church bombing claims the lives of 85 worshippers". The World Outline. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  13. "TTP says no links with Jundullah". The News. 24 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  14. "Suicide bombs kill 78 outside Peshawar Church, injure over 100". Geo TV . 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  15. Farhan Bokhari (23 September 2013). "Pakistan Christians fear more persecution following church attack". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 6 February 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  16. "Church bomb in Pakistan kills at least 55, including women and children". NBC News. 22 September 2013. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2013.