Pakistani security forces ended a standoff with militants holed up inside a police compound in the northwestern part of the country on Saturday.
The standoff began Friday after a suicide bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives into the complex in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the country’s border with Afghanistan.
Gunmen followed the vehicle, killing 21 people and wounding 103 others.
The coordinated attack occurred during traditional Friday prayers, and many of the dead and wounded were either police or worshippers.
Crux Now spoke with Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, President of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, who condemned the violence and offered his condolences and prayers for the victims and their loved ones.
“I extend my condolences to all those who have died, their families and survivors,” Suhardin said.
