Scores Killed In Pakistan Mosque Attack

(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.

(CBS)

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.

[ahmadi-muslim]

?Inna Lillahi, Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajioon ? To God we belong, and to God we return.? This is the muslim prayer that one recites upon learning the news of a loss. This is a deep, tremendous loss for our community. Even the death of a single brother, even the passing of a single sister is intolerable. It is intolerable even when the blood of that loss does not fall on anyone?s hands. Imagine my pain this day, when you murderer?s have robbed scores of my precious brothers and sisters of life. Imagine my pain when you have done so in the name of my beautiful and pure religion, in the name of my beloved prophet Muhammad Mustafa, and in the name of the True Beloved - Allah, the All-seeing, All-Knowing God. Yet this is the pain that My God - Who is One and Who is the Source of Peace ? this is the pain Allah has taught me to bear.

O Allah, may those who were martyred today, while they gathered to praise and worship You Who is alone worthy of worship, may they be granted the highest station in paradise and may their loved ones be strengthened with patience and steadfastness. Amen.

[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