PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Taliban militants stormed a Shiite Muslim mosque Friday in northwestern Pakistan, killing 20 people in a wave of gunfire and explosions before the siege ended, officials said.
The attack marks the latest violence against a religious minority that has suffered repeated bombings and assassinations by hardline Islamic militants. The violence also underscored the challenges the military and police face to secure the country two months after a horrific Taliban attack against a school sparked public outrage and cries for greater security.
The attack in the city of Peshawar wounded more than 45 people, according to Mian Mohammad Saeed, the chief of operations for the Peshawar police.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the violence.
There were varying accounts of how many attackers carried out the assault. The militants released a video showing three attackers while the head of the provincial police, Nasir Durrani, said four or five attackers were involved.
The attackers entered the mosque from a building next door that was under construction, he said. They jumped over an outer wall into the mosque courtyard.
One person then blew himself up, creating a diversion so the other attackers could enter the mosque, Durrani said. He said at least three attackers died in the violence — two by blowing themselves up, and a third was killed by worshippers at the mosque.
“People here showed great courage. They grabbed one of the attackers from his neck, and he couldn’t detonate (his explosives), and he was shot and killed,” Durrani added.
Authorities were still examining the scene, and Durrani did not say what happened to any of the remaining attackers.
Some worshippers who fled the mosque reported that at least some of the attackers were wearing security uniforms.
“The prayer was about to end when a big bang happened, followed by dust and smoke. I have seen amid the smoke that one guy dressed in a police uniform was firing shots and then there was another blast,” said one of the wounded, 22-year-old Syed Javed Hasan, speaking from his hospital bed.
The imam of the mosque called on God to help protect his worshippers.
