17 suspects arrested in connection with Peshawar mosque blast

Various sources are reporting that Pakistan’s security agencies have arrested 17 suspects in connection with Monday's suicide bombing which killed 101 people, including 97 policemen. It is believed to be deadliest attack on security personnel in decades.

The suicide bomber, reported to be connected with the Taliban, was present in the front row during the Zuhr (afternoon) prayers at the Peshawar mosque, which is situated in a high security zone. The explosion caused the roof to collapse on the worshippers.

Emergency workers searched through the rubble to locate survivors in the aftermath of the explosion, but authorities said “mostly dead bodies” were being found. Approximately 250 people were also injured in the blast.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility, saying it was part of a revenge attack for TTP commander Umar Khalid Khurasani who was killed in Afghanistan last August.

Army chief Gen Asim Munir vowed zero tolerance for terror groups and directed his generals to eliminate the threat of militancy.

General Munir, who presided over the 255th Corps Commanders’ Conference held at general headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, said that the military was determined to eliminate the threat of militancy from the country.

The army chief said: "Such immoral and cowardly acts cannot shake the resolve of the nation rather reinvigorate our determination to succeed in ongoing war against terror with zero tolerance for any terrorist entity."

Addressing parliament on Tuesday, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asifhe urged all political forces to unite against terrorists. He said:

“There is a need to create a consensus like (at the time of) the Zarb-e-Azb operation against this kind of terrorism. It is being hoped that the prime minister would take a step in this direction”

Zarb-e-Azb was launched after the Peshawar school bombing of 2014 which had killed around 150 people, mostly students.