A deadly blast at a mosque at the time of Friday prayers killed 13 people including militants associated with the banned Lashkar-e-Islam group in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency, political authorities said. The blast ripped through the LI mosque and its linked seminary in the Sandapaul area of Bara tehsil, an official report said. Eight LI militants were also among the dead. An official said the bomber was planting a remote-controlled bomb in the premises of Dars Jumaat, when he was spotted by some LI militants.
The LI men fired at the rival militant and killed him while he was fleeing. However, he pressed the remote control’s button in his hand, detonating the explosives with a big bang. The LI centre was run by Yar Walil Khan, a nephew of the banned outfit’s chief Mangal Bagh. The fate of Yar Wali Khan was not clear until filing of this report. The same mosque was targeted by the rival militant group on February 18, 2010 and at least 30 people were killed, including an important LI commander, while more than 70 others were injured. A similar attack at another Lashkar-e-Islam mosque in Tirah killed 22 people and wounded another 20 others after Friday prayers on March 2, 2012.
