Islamabad [Pakistan], May 18 : The Islamic State-affiliated regional terror group Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has taken responsibility for the May 11 suicide bombing in Pakistan's Peshawar, Dawn reported.
According to Dawn, two police officers were killed and three were injured in the bombing.
The claim was made in ISKP's weekly publication Al-Naba on Friday, stating that one of its members, Abu Ibrahim al-Khorasani, carried out the attack by detonating an explosive belt when police intercepted him at a checkpoint under the jurisdiction of Peshawar's Chamkani police station.
According to Dawn, citing investigators, the bomber may not have intended to target the police directly but suspected that the intended target was a gathering of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) at its Mufti Mehmood Markaz headquarters that same evening, which was attended by the party leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
"It appears that the bomber's target was the JUI-F gathering, but it has yet to be confirmed," a source in Pakistan's counter-terrorism department said, as quoted by Dawn.
Meanwhile, a senior police official echoed this view, citing ISKP's history of attacks on JUI-F events as supporting evidence.
"Most probably yes, as evident from the past ISKP attacks against the JUI-F gatherings," he said as quoted by Dawn.
The JUI-F has been frequently targeted by militant groups, particularly ISKP.
In July 2023, a suicide bombing at a JUI-F workers' convention in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province killed 54 people.
As per Dawn, hundreds of party members and local leaders were present at the time of the attack, which was also claimed by ISKP.
JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman has survived several assassination attempts over the years. On October 23, 2014, a suicide attack at a rally in Quetta left two people dead and many injured, though Fazl remained unharmed. Earlier, on March 30, 2011, he survived another suicide bombing near Swabi while travelling in a convoy on the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway in which two policemen and eight civilians were killed.
As per Dawn, the security threats against the JUI-F leader remain high and the most recent threat alert was issued by Dera Ismail Khan police on February 16, warning that terrorists were planning to target Fazl due to his involvement in religious and political matters.
"Terrorists plan to target Maulana Fazlur Rehman for participating and interfering in religious and political matters," the alert read as quoted by Dawn.
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