Pakistan blasts updates: Twin explosions kill dozens of worshippers
All the updates from the explosions targeting religious gatherings in Pakistan on Friday, September 29, 2023.
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- Two explosions have killed dozens of people in Pakistan.
- The first blast struck a procession to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad in Mastung, Balochistan province, killing at least 52 people.
- At least five people have also been reported killed in an explosion at a mosque in Hangu, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
- There have been no claims of responsibility so far.
Thank you for joining us
That’s it from our Live team today.
You can catch up with today’s events by reading our news stories about the blasts in Mastung and Hangu here, and here.
You can also check out our piece from a hospital in Quetta featuring the powerful accounts of survivors and relatives of victims, here.
Thank you for joining us.
A look back at today’s events
We’re going to bring our live coverage to an end shortly. Here’s a summary of today’s main events:
- Pakistan is reeling after two explosions during religious gatherings killed dozens of people and wounded many others.
- At least 52 people died in the first suicide bomb blast that took place in Mastung in the southwestern province of Balochistan.
- In a separate attack, at least five people were killed at a mosque in Hangu, in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
- No armed group has claimed responsibility so far.
‘I saw so many bodies’: Mastung survivor
We’re getting more accounts from people who survived the suicide bombing in Mastung.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ali Hassan described a horrific scene at the site of the blast.
“I was passing near where the blast happened,” he said. “I became unconscious after the blast. I was scared. I saw so many bodies lying here and there.”
Other attacks that took place in Pakistan in 2023
Below are details of some attacks that took place in Pakistan before today’s suicide bombings:
January: A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in a security compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 100 people, mostly policemen.
March: A suicide bomber rammed a motorcycle into a police truck, killing nine policemen in Sibbi, a city some 160km (99 miles) east of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.
April: Four people were killed in a bombing targeting a police vehicle in a marketplace in Quetta on April 10. In a successive attack, a station house officer was targeted in a roadside blast in Quetta.
July: At least 63 people died in a suicide bombing at a political rally organised by Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party.
August: Nine soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle set off his explosives next to a convoy in northwestern Pakistan.
‘I will never forget these painful moments’: Witness
Asadullah Bangulzai says he was some distance away when the explosion occurred in Mastung. He quickly joined other bystanders helping with the wounded.
“I had blood on my hands and clothes” from carrying people hurt by the explosion, he told The Associated Press news agency.
“I will never forget these painful moments … People were crying in pain.”
More condemnations trickle in
Iran
State television is reporting that President Ebrahim Raisi has said attacks “show terrorists have no other goal than to create division among Muslims”.
United States
“Pakistani people deserve to gather and celebrate their faith without the fear of terror attacks,” the US embassy in Islamabad said.
“We will continue to stand with Pakistan in the face of these vicious attacks.”
“The Pakistani people deserve to gather and celebrate their faith without the fear of terror attacks like the ones today in Balochistan and KP. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families. We will continue to stand with Pakistan in the face of these vicious attacks.” -DB
— U.S. Embassy Islamabad (@usembislamabad) September 29, 2023
Heartbreaking scenes as people mourn loved ones
Photographers have been capturing heart-wrenching scenes as relatives and friends mourn the loss of their loved ones after the twin attacks.
Muslim bloc condemns ‘heinous acts’
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has issued a statement strongly condemning the “heinous” twin attacks.
OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said the bloc stood “against all forms and manifestations of terrorism and expressed full support for Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism”.
He also offered his “deepest condolences” to the people of Pakistan and their government.
Small children among the dead: Witness
Senior police official Munir Ahmed Shahwan says the attacker in Mastung detonated himself close to “a police vehicle near Madina Mosque”.
At the site of the attack, Shahwan said people were looking for loved ones who had planned to take part in the procession.
“Bodies were strewn in pieces at the site and the injured were crying for help,” he told the Reuters news agency.
“I saw at least 25 bodies on the spot, which included small children,” he said.
Increasing violence a major embarrassment for gov’t: Analyst
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar, who is in Saudi Arabia for the religious pilgrimage of Umrah, condemned the blasts and called for full support for victims.
Kakar heads a caretaker government meant to oversee general elections scheduled for the last week of January.
Ahmed Rashid, a journalist and author focusing on Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, told Al Jazeera the violence against Pakistani civilians showcased “the increasing state of disarray of the government”.“These attacks are multiplying, they are not decreasing in any way at all, and they are getting bloodier and bloodier,” he said. “This is a major embarrassment for the government, especially since elections are coming up.”
Attackers tried to storm police station before Hangu mosque blast
Police have provided more details about the explosion at the Hangu mosque.
Senior officer Fazal Akbar said two suspected attackers tried to enter a police station near the mosque, but they were fired upon by the officers there.
“One of them blew himself up at the gate but the other managed to enter the mosque. Thankfully, most of the people inside the mosque managed to escape after the first blast, which is why the casualty count is low,” he said.
Read more in our news story here.
Unpacking Pakistan’s security situation
We have spoken to Iftikhar Firdous, editor of The Khorasan Diary, a research platform specialising in armed groups in the South Asian region, who has given us some interesting context about the way armed groups operate in Pakistan:
- The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) denied responsibility for the attacks stressing their strict policy on refraining from targeting public spaces. It wasn’t always like this. The armed group used to target mosques and gatherings indiscriminately, but it changed strategy in 2018 to address strong backlash from public opinion and a stern reaction by Pakistani security forces.
- On the other end of the armed group spectrum, ISIL (ISIS) – and particularly its regional branches, the Islamic State Khorasan Province and Islamic State Pakistan (ISKP and ISPP) – frequently target public gatherings and processions in order to achieve maximum casualties.
- While both the TTP and ISPP reject celebrating Mawlid an-Nabi as it doesn’t align with their interpretation of Islam, ISPP is the sole organisation which would allow such indiscriminate targeting of civilians. The armed group sees those celebrating as guilty of breaching the basic tenets of religion, where only two occasions can be celebrated in Islam: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
Rescue operations in Mastung now completed: Health official
Saeed Mirwani, chief executive of the Shaheed Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Raisani Memorial Hospital, has confirmed that his hospital received at least 32 bodies after the blast, while another 20 were taken to the district hospital of Mastung.
The injured were then brought to the provincial capital Quetta, which is 50km (31 miles) north of Mastung, while the dead bodies were taken away by relatives for burial.
“The rescue operation is completed and we don’t have any dead bodies or any injured in our hospital at the moment,” Mirwani told Al Jazeera.
What is Mawlid an-Nabi?
The suicide attacker in Mastung blew himself up as a crowd of 500 people gathered for a procession to celebrate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad, known as Mawlid an-Nabi.
Muslims in Pakistan and around the world celebrate the occasion by holding public gatherings, often including parades of children in traditional garb.
While the celebration is accepted by a majority of Islamic sects, certain denominations view it as an unwarranted innovation.
In Mastung, the blast went off before the procession from a local mosque was to begin.
What has happened so far? Here’s a recap
If you’re just joining our coverage, let’s bring you up to speed with what we know so far:
- A suicide attacker blew himself up during a religious procession in Mastung, Balochistan province, killing at least 52 people and wounding dozens.
- A second blast killed five people and injured 12 at a mosque in Hangu, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
- There has been no claim of responsibility for either explosion.
- Armed group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistan Taliban or TTP) denies being behind both blasts.
Rescue operations in Hangu completed: Officials
Rescue operations at the Hangu mosque are completed, local officials have said, confirming that five people died and more than 10 were injured.
Fazal Akbar Khan, deputy commissioner of Hangu, said in a statement that two attackers tried to target the Doaba Police Station, which is situated a few metres away from the mosque.
Witness describes Mastung attack
Sarfaraz Ahmed Sasoli, who witnessed the explosion in Mastung, has spoken to Al Jazeera about the moment of the attack.
“I was on the security duty for the procession outside the madina [town] mosque.
“We were preparing for the prophet’s birthday procession when a suicid[e attacker] blew himself up near the stage where our chief guests were sitting.
“My two brothers were injured in the blast and we have shifted more than 100 injured to Quetta for treatment.”
‘A very alarming development’: Analyst
Amir Rana, director of the Islamabad-based research organisation Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, says that the two incidents appear to be the work of ISIL (ISIS).
“However, what must be remembered is that the Islamic State Khorasan Province operates primarily out of the Peshawar region in Pakistan, or Afghanistan, while the Islamic State Pakistan Province is based out of Balochistan. It appears this might be the first time they coordinated for twin attacks,” he told Al Jazeera.
The surge in violence shows that the armed groups are increasing their operational capability and challenging the state’s command, Rana said.
“This is a very alarming development. We have historically seen ISIL and its affiliates targeting religious movements and religious centres of worship,” he added.
Scenes from Quetta hospital
Here’s a series of pictures from the the Civil Hospital in Quetta, where most of those wounded in the explosion in Mastung have been brought for treatment.
Balochistan: A complicated history
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but most impoverished province, and the site of a long-running armed separatist campaign.
The resource-rich region has a complicated history with the state of Pakistan. Armed nationalist groups have been seeking an independent Baloch state for decades.
Meanwhile, the designation of the port city of Gwadar as one of the key points of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has caused further resentment in the southwestern province.
Over the past decade, Baloch rebels have carried out a number of attacks against Pakistani security forces as well as Chinese officials working in the province. Last month, authorities said they had thwarted an attack on Chinese engineers.
Separately, Balochistan has seen an increasing presence of transnational groups such as the so-called Islamic State in Khorasan Province ISKP (ISIS-K), the Islamic State Pakistan Province (ISPP) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
While the TTP has denied carrying out the attack in Mastung, saying it does not have a policy of attacking civilians, the armed group has in the past launched numerous attacks on security forces.
In July, at least nine Pakistan army soldiers were killed in Zhob, a city in the province, when attackers managed to infiltrate a military installation. The attack was claimed by a TTP-linked group.
‘Tragic, but not surprising’: Analyst
Imtiaz Gul, executive director at the Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad, says the news of the two explosions doesn’t come as a surprise considering the increasing number of attacks by armed groups in the region this year.
“The death toll of security forces in the first nine months of this year has surpassed the total death toll of the previous year,” Gul told Al Jazeera, referring to data collected by his think tank.
Gul said the so-called Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, has been at the forefront of the uptick in violence. He added that the armed group has been branded by security agencies as the number one threat to regional security.
“This a very tragic incident, but not surprising,” he added.
Investigators examine site of religious procession blast
Security officials are combing the site of the suicide bomb blast in Mastung.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan denies carrying out attacks
The outlawed group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has issued a statement distancing itself from the two bomb attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern and southwestern provinces.
The TTP, also known as Pakistani Taliban, condemned the two attacks and called the loss of lives “tragic”.
“The goals of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan are clear. Mosques, seminaries, schools and public gatherings are not among our targets. We have nothing to do with today’s two blasts and we strongly condemn them,” the statement from the TTP’s spokesperson Muhammad Khorasani read.
Death toll in Hangu blast rises to five
The number of dead in the Hangu mosque blast has increased to five, according to rescue officials.
“We now have five confirmed casualties, while another six critically injured have been transferred to hospital,” Bilal Faizi, the spokesperson for Rescue 1122, told Al Jazeera.
He added that heavy machinery is being used to remove the debris of the roof from the mosque which collapsed.
Many people are still feared trapped under the rubble.
Mastung police officer says no claim of responsibility so far
Police official Javed Lehri has told Al Jazeera that so far no group has claimed responsibility for the Mastung bomb blast.
“While the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has said it has nothing to do with the attack, no other group has so far claimed responsibility,” he said.
Lehri added that the procession was organised by two local religious parties to mark the celebration of the prophet’s birthday.