Almost 44 people have died and as many as 200 have been injured in a suicide attack at Jamiat Ulema-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
As per reports, the sucide attack took place at around 4 p.m. in a political gathering of JUI-F in Bajaur’s Khar. There were almost 400 people present at the event during the blast. After the attack, the entire area was cordoned off. The Police has stated that injured have been shifted to a hospital in the nearby area, while those who sustained serious injuries have been airlifted to Peshawar.
The local administration has stated that the death toll may rise as the number of severely injured people is high.
According to Dawn, a local JUI-F leader, Maulana Ziaullah Jan has died in the blast.As of now, no terrorist group has taken responsibility of the attack, however, it is highly anticipated that Islamic State is behind the attack, as it has accused JUI-F of hypocrisy and had already targeted the group in the past.
Survivors recalled that after the blast the tent collapsed over the gathered people due to which it became more difficult to escape.