Twin suicide bombings in Pakistan kill at least 57 people.

 

Medics tend to a man wounded in one of the blasts. 

Twin suicide bombings in Pakistan kill at least 57 people and leave 58 wounded, with both numbers expected to rise. Reuters. The bombings were at a mosque belonging to the Barlvi sect at a celebration of the prophet Muhammad's birthday. More hardline sects consider such veneration of Muhmmad to be blasphemy. A deputy police superintendent was among the people killed as he tried to stop one of the bombers. Pakistan has seen an uptick in attacks in the provinces bordering Pakistan, mostly caused by hardline Sunni Muslims under the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). However the Taliban have denied responsibility for this attack. 

My Comment:

Just a quick post about a story that probably isn't getting the coverage it deserves. Islamic terrorism is still a threat and it's one that tends to get ignored these days due to all the other distractions out there. Indeed, today most of the news coverage is for the death of Diane Feinstein, but I tend to think a bunch of people dying in a terror attack is more important to cover than the death of someone that has been at death's door all year. 

This was a pretty major pair of attacks involving multiple bombers and could very well end with triple digit fatalities in the end, though it's unclear how much the death toll would rise. Tragically, one of the bombings was almost prevented with a police superintendent doing his best to stop it. Alas, he failed and died with the rest of the casualties. 

It's unclear who is responsible for this attack. The Pakistani Taliban, TTP, has denied the bombings and they remain the prime suspects, just because of how active they are in the region. They tend to attack civilians less than groups like ISIS or al-Qaeda would, but I don't think either group has a major presence in Pakistan anymore. Indeed, both groups are mere shadows of what they once were. 

Pakistan isn't the most stable country in the world right now, in addition to the Taliban insurgency they have their own political problems. If it were to fall into chaos, which isn't that likely, it could be used as a new base for more international terror groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS. As it stands right now, TTP isn't really a threat to anyone but Pakistani citizens and their government. 

Either way, this attack was especially disgusting as it seemed to have killed a large number of children at a house of worship. Given the number of children that died it does not surprise me that TTP denied responsibility, even if they probably did do it.