International terror outfit, Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack inside Peshawar’s Shia Mosque Imambargah during Friday prayers. Over 60 worshippers were killed, and over 200 injured in the suicide attack.
ISIS-K posted a statement, claiming responsibility, on the group's Amaq News Agency. The statement identified the attacker as an Afghan, and posted his picture. It added that “Islamic State fighters are constantly targeting Shiites living in Pakistan and Afghanistan despite the intense security measures adopted by the Taliban militia and the Pakistani police to secure Shia mosques and centers.”
Islamic State Khurasan (ISK) claimed the attack in Peshawar’s Imambargah today that has claimed 57 lives and injured 194 people. Identifying the bomber as “Jalaibib Al-Kabali”. This is the first major attack in Peshawar that has been claimed by IS Central. pic.twitter.com/6OJTe0Z1s4
— Iftikhar Firdous (@IftikharFirdous) March 4, 2022
The posting named Julaybib al Kabuli as the suicide bomber. He could be seen wearing a suicide vest and bearing a T56-1 AK rifle. The statement then gave a detailed account of how the suicide bomber had stormed the Shiite Mosque in Peshawar after shooting two Pakistani police officers.
“The assault was clearly intended to target Shia worshippers and bears the hallmarks of sectarian outfits that have been allowed to run amok in recent years,” says the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in a statement.
The Islamic State, a Sunni hardcore terrorist group that considers Shiite’s heretics, has claimed several previous attacks in Pakistan but the mosque bombing was the biggest and deadliest yet.
According to security experts, the attack appears to bear the hallmarks of last year’s suicide bombing at various Shiite mosques in Afghanistan – timed for maximum casualties during Friday prayers that typically attract the largest number of worshippers.
The ISIS-K, which has stepped up attacks in several cities in Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in Kabul in August last year, was also responsible for carrying out a spate of terror attacks against Pakistan’s security officials in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In October last year, the group had also claimed responsibility for the killing of a well-known Sikh Unani hakeem, Sardar Satnam Singh Khalsa.
Pakistan has asked Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to hand over its wanted militants who have been staging their attacks from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Taliban say their territory will not be used to stage attacks against anyone, but until now they have not handed over any Pakistani insurgents.
According to Pakistan watchers, other than Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the presence of ISIS-K in the tribal region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the major concerns for the Pakistani authorities who believe that cadre of TTP and ISIS-K in Pakistan consist of the same members who are fluid in their allegiance and often work for both organisations.
The security chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa admitted the militant ISIS-K is a bigger threat to peace in the province than the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Last month the US announced a $10-million reward for information leading to the "identification or location" of Sanaullah Ghafari — also known as Shahab Al Muhajir, the leader of ISIS-K. "Ghafari is responsible for approving all ISIS-K operations throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan and arranging funding to conduct operations," the State Department said in a statement.
Ghafari has been an al-Qaeda commander and a former member of the Haqqani network, one of the most powerful and feared factions in the Taliban.
According to a UN report on terrorism, Pakistan is home to at least 12 groups designated as “foreign terrorist organisations”, including five of them being India-centric like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
A Pakistani expert warns that Pakistan is playing with fire as all these groups are currently in the active mode.
