IN A shocking incident, 53 people were killed and more than 123 others were seriously injured when a teenage suicide bomber blew himself up at the Jama Masjid in Jamrud area of the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The incident took place when the worshippers gathered in the mosque to offer their Friday prayers were heading back home. At the time of the blast, local media reported that more than 200 people were present.

The people who made out alive were quoted saying that a young boy aged 15 or 16 was seen entering the mosque through a window and blew himself up instantly. Upon entering the main hall, he was reported to have said “who will throw me out” as quoted by the media.

Officials further went on the record to state that soon after the blast, the residents were seen frantically digging through the debris bare handed to fish out the dead and the injured. The authorities are not ruling out the possibility of the dead to increase.

So far, no terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack but such gruesome attacks are carried out by the Pakistani Taliban. Other militant groups such as the Taliban as well as the Lashkar-e-Toiba are also present in the Khyber region.