Death toll in Pak Shia mosque attack rises to 22

The death toll in the Taliban suicide attack on a Shia mosque in Peshawar, the main city in Pakistan's restive northwest, today rose to 22 after an injured person succumbed to his wounds.
Over 50 people were also injured in the attack in which Kalashnikov-wielding Taliban suicide attackers stormed the Imamia Masjid Imambargah in the posh Hayatabad area in the city where worshippers had gathered for the Friday prayers, opening fire and exploding bombs in a revenge attack.
Dr Touheed of Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar confirmed that the death toll had risen to 22 after an injured person succumbed to his wounds.

The attack comes exactly two weeks after a suicide attack inside a packed Shia mosque in Pakistan's Sindh province during the Friday prayers killed 61 people, including children, in the deadliest sectarian attack to hit the country in recent times.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack and warned that it was the first in a series of revenge attacks.
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said it was a retaliation to the hanging of the militants by the government following the Peshawar school massacre that claimed 150 lives, mostly students.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the mosque attack and promised that militants will be brought to justice.

"I think a Zarb-e-Azb-like operations should be launched against the extremists hiding in cities," he said today while addressing a gathering of newspapers owners.
Pakistan Army launched Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan in June last and had so far killed more than 1,600 militants.
The style of yesterday's attack bore a striking similarity to the December 16 Peshawar carnage, in which the gunmen arrived in a car, set it on fire and broke into the building using a back entrance.