Scores Killed In Pakistan Mosque Attack

Suicide Bomber Blows Himself Up During Friday Prayers Near Afghan Border; At Least 70 Thought Dead, Many More Missing

(CBS)  This story was filed by CBS News' Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad.

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A suicide bomber blew himself up Friday in a mosque packed with more than 250 worshippers in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 70 people, a senior government official said.

"I fear this death toll may go higher. So far, there is evidence to suggest that we are looking at 70 casualties if not more," said the official, who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity from Peshawar, the densely populated city where the bomber struck.

Pakistani TV channels reported the death of at least 50 people, though they also warned that the toll was almost certain to go higher.

Peshawar is the capital of Pakistan's violence-stricken Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP). The attack badly damaged the main mosque in Jamrud, a Peshawar suburb located near the Afghan border.

The area has been plagued by an insurgency led by al Qaeda and Taliban militants who have continuously fought Pakistan's military for the past few years. Television news video showed police officers, rescue workers and residents digging through the rubble of the mosque in search of survivors.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday's attack, but Pakistani investigators were looking for any possible links to the Taliban - at least 15 of those killed in the blast were Pakistani government employees.

On Monday, the main police intelligence headquarters in Islamabad was hit in a suicide attack in which only the bomber and one guard at the front gate were killed.

Pakistani intelligence officials then revealed they had picked up information which suggested the bomber may have been one of as many as ten dispatched some weeks ago by the Taliban in the group's latest move to destabilize the country.

On Friday, a Pakistani intelligence official told CBS News on condition of anonymity that he believed the attacker in Peshawar, "was one of the bombers already in the field to carry out attacks which would destabilize Pakistan."

Western diplomats said the attack has wider repercussions for Pakistan - and its neighbors - beyond highlighting again the growing lawlessness within the country.

Diplomats from NATO countries, including the U.S., have become increasingly concerned about the security of supply convoys which travel through some of Pakistan's most dangerous reasons to deliver goods to troops in Afghanistan.

Several convoys have been attacked in recent months in the NWFP, including ambushes close to the scene of Friday's attack.

"If internal security is deteriorating this rapidly, then maybe this is a far more worrying situation than what is appreciated," said one Western diplomat.

[lekarshi]

I remember talking to a proud Pakistani about ten years ago, just after they had conducted their nuclear tests. He was in awe of his government?s *** for tat response to the other third world nation, India.
Fast forward ten years and you see a resurgent India which opened up to the world for the prosperity and growth of its people. The very Pakistan that wanted to destroy a rising democratic nation is amidst the torrent of its own spell. The most violent, narrow-minded nation of this world today, Pakistan, is a fine example of what can happen to a people who refuse to accept the changes of time and tide.
Many communities around the world have accepted the vicissitudes of mankind, even though they subtly hold a desire to refrain from changing altogether. But they don?t have a violent solution to their cultural differences. People consider Islam to be the fastest growing religion in the world; well we wait with bated breath as to how they intend to integrate with the rest of the world. Nobody wants a Pakistan in their neighborhood, that?s for sure.

[earth562]

Had George Bush and Gang not changed that focus we might have gotten Bin Laden and the rest of these creeps a long time ago..
Posted by labrat9999


You obviously read the comics for your nightly news.

Ever hear of topography ?

Have you ever wondered why the Soviet Union had a lovely time there in the late 70s before scooting as far as they could from Afghanistan.

The only focus you should concern yourself with is getting another pair of glasses that are not so rosy or foggy.

[oberon14233]

It is sad that any group would condone attacking worshipers of any faith.

[displeased]

didn't hear one Islamic group condemn this bombing.. Islam is a true religion of peace..
Posted by cornbiker

Are you actually over there witnessing the people's support of these bombings? How do you know nobody is condemning it?

[labrat9999]

biger-e ..sort of a strange posting. Logic would say that if killings increase, regardless of the location, then the west (I assume you mean US) would go harder not softer. I don't think you caught President Obama's speech on this subject today. Anyway, as President Obama has said time and time again, we have been bogged down in Iraq when we should have been focused on Afganistan and Pakistan. Had George Bush and Gang not changed that focus we might have gotten Bin Laden and the rest of these creeps a long time ago..

[displeased]

what can we not do in school anymore??? pray to our God whom this country was founded. Do you think someone is gonna bust a kid for praying to Allah in this climate right now, i doubt it.
Posted by clowry1611

Who says kids can't pray in school. They can pray anywhere they want, as long as its not organized to prevent influencing others. Hopefully you're "prayer to Allah" prediction is wrong and we'll always have separation of religion and state, regardless of religion.

[brianp55]

These nuts obviously have far more to fear from fellow Muslims then they do from the infidels. Blowing each other up while at prayer...truly the religion of peace.

[nomealaska]

How do the world's monotheistic religions rationalize that they each have one god, and that their religion's god is not the same one worshipped by the others?

With the odds favoring life somewhere besides earth, but I'm pretty sure other planets don't believe in Jesus, Mohammed, or any of our other earthcentric concepts. We are pretty smart and pretty full of ourselves. There certainly aren't any religions here worth fighting about. I might be inclined to follow the first one offering any proof.

With all existing religions relying on books written by man, they are all inherently faulty - like the people who wrote them.. That being said, I think that they are all great books that offer wonderful insight into the human condition. We should still be writing them, as the story is not over - yet.

[clowry1611]

First and Second Amendment in America to ensure that we shall not be silenced.
Posted by one4gipper
__________________________________________
maybe for now, but there will come a day when those amendments will be broken in our own country. what is the fastest growing religion here in the US??? that's right, Islam. what can we not do in school anymore??? pray to our God whom this country was founded. Do you think someone is gonna bust a kid for praying to Allah in this climate right now, i doubt it. in a way the first and second have already been breached

[mjvwsr]

the peace loving religion of Islam

[biger-e]

al Qaeda is playing with the libs and the media. they know that the more deaths that there are cause people in the west to get soft and they don't care if they kill their own. they think if enough people die, the west will just go away. unfortunatley they might be right.

[biger-e]

It's Obama's fault. impeach now.

[one4gipper]

The irony here is that the Pakistan ISI created the Taliban. It funded trained and nurtured these fundamentalist psyhcopaths. Afghanistan under the Taliban was Pakistan's making. Now, the worms have come home to eat the intestines of their creator, since the original host has become inhospitable.

The good thing is that the world is beginning to see what a vile religion Islam is. In desperation, the mullahs are petitioning the UN to make the disparaging the Islam a hate crime. This may be effective in Europe where Geert Wilders is being prosecuted for making a movie about Islam that uses only the words of the mullahs and the Koran. Thank God that we have a First and Second Amendment in America to ensure that we shall not be silenced.

[searingtruth]

I have to go now.

May the light of compassion always bless our great nation.
ST


"Those who crusade, not for God in themselves, but against the devil in others, never succeed in making the world better, but leave it either as it was, or sometimes even perceptibly worse ... By thinking primarily of evil we tend, however excellent our intentions, to create occasions for evil to manifest itself in us."
Aldous Huxley

A Future of the Brave

[displeased]

Why did they remove IrishWenchAlways's posts? I thought she made some good points.

[searingtruth]

"...Yes, I believe that to be true. What many forget, that while we as humans may have physically evolved so to speak, much more needs to happen on the emotional and intellectual front. Emotional evolution and intellectual maturity are harder to attain and require a concerted effort."
IrishWenchAlways


Again you are absolutely correct IrishWenchAlways. And many in history have, and are today, trying to lead us upon a more constructive and humane path. I truly believe that if the mental blinders that forbid us from viewing other humans as ourselves could be removed we would instantly understand and recognize our misguided thought processes and rectify injustice wherever we saw it.

But there is no way to snap our fingers and change humanity, in any way. We must instead take the long road towards human enlightenment, and that road is replete with foibles and missteps, and no guarantee that we will reach its end.

And if we do not, then most certainly our species will not survive.
ST


"I can imagine our children playing together."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[howardatsocialfartsdotcom]

"Holy Terror?" (... wherein people perform atrocities to make a point...)
Pith: Terrorism is the ultimate form of insanity - using fear and death in order to push people into doing something you want.

Explanation: The poor man's dictatorship, terrorism is a microcosm of power for the powerless, a way of pretending that you have a country or a people at your command. The problem with it is that it doesn't work to create a better world any more than does a despotic regime. The true victory in this world is winning the hearts and minds of thinking people to join together in doing something that really works. Inspiring desperate and powerless people to wage terror on others in blind allegiance to a fanatic idea is hardly a model worth emulating. Yet religion has succeeded in providing the template.

Consequences: Fear has long been proliferated in order to exercise control over others. While it has proven to coerce, it never wins real support except among those whose only hope of fortune is to become a bully in the entourage of a scary person. Whose fault is it that terrorism has flourished? Our societies use fear as a motivator at every level - in relationships, in families, in business, in religion and in law. The difference between everyday terror and a terrorist attack is unpredictability and gore, which are the core components of a terrorist's crazy-making strategy. We have learned how to adapt to small predictable threats, like parental tantrums and ranting clerics, but have yet to accommodate ourselves to those that are more random and deadly, like marketplace suicide bombs. The challenge is for everyone to give up fear as a motivator, before we scare each other to death.

References: For further investigation into the current world of terror, readers can research "The Age of Terrorism" by Walter Laqueur, and/or search the internet under the keyword "terrorism".

[hankvreeland]

Has there ever been a time since the beginning when people didn't kill people who were different? It is one nasty part of human nature that will never change. Seems to be an erratic part of the survival instinct.

[searingtruth]

"And a Good Morning to you as well. It is certainly a world filled with sadness and turmoil these days. It would be nice to have a peaceful respit for a time."
IrishWenchAlways


Indeed. But unfortunately peace, especially amongst people with different cultures and beliefs, is much more difficult than simply jumping up and down and yelling "war!". Peace requires much more foresight, compromise, and thought, and it requires it over a long period of time, usually measured in decades, not days.

America must regain a posture of good, and that posture must remain steadfast in the face of much adversity for many, many, years to come before we can begin to turn the tide.

But have no doubt, the tide can be turned, and while I doubt peace will ever reign throughout the world, I firmly believe that it can reign throughout most of it. Which would put us in a far better place than we are now.
ST


"We could not reason for peace, for our children had been mercilessly slaughtered in war."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[jsf14]

It's possible that this is one branch of Islam murdering members of another branch. Before saying that such bloodshed isjust an Islamic thing, Christians should remember the religious wars fought between Catholics and Protstants in Europe 400 years ago, when Christianity was 1600 years old. Remember the Inquisition, the extermination of the Cathars, and other religious murders by Christians. It's NOT because of religion. It's because people fight, and religion is a handy excuse.