2023 Peshawar mosque bombing

2023 Peshawar mosque bombing
Part of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Internal view of the mosque after the bombing.
Location	Police Lines area, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Coordinates	34°00′47″N 71°33′34″E / 34.01306°N 71.55944°E / 34.01306; 71.55944
Date	January 30, 2023 (2023-01-30) 13:30 PKT (UTC+05:00)
Target	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police officers
Attack type	Suicide bombing
Deaths	85 (including the perpetrator)
Injured	217
Perpetrators	Pakistani Taliban (denied by TTP) Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction
Motive	Death of Omar Khalid Khorasani

On 30 January 2023, at around 1:30 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time (UTC+5), a suicide bomber set off an explosion within the Police Lines mosque of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, killing 84 people and injuring 217. The mosque, located within a high-security compound containing several government offices, including the headquarters of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, was infiltrated by the perpetrator after he had disguised himself as a police officer, allowing him to pass through several security checkpoints and join the congregational Zuhr prayers. The bombing destroyed a wall and the roof of the mosque, burying hundreds of people in rubble.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility for the bombing, stating that it was carried out to avenge the death of their founder and former leader Omar Khalid Khorasani. Shortly after their claim, the TTP issued a statement denying any involvement, though the Pakistani government and other commentators maintain that the group likely knew of and approved the attack. The bombing was widely condemned domestically and internationally, with leaders from around the world expressing condolences to the victims and their families. The United Nations Secretary General's spokeswoman called the bombing "particularly abhorrent" as it took place in a site of worship.