On Monday, a suicide bombing at a Peshawar mosque killed 100 and wounded over
225 others. Initially claimed by al-Qaeda affiliate group Tehrik-i-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, the attack is now being
credited to a powerful TTP faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA). Many TTP members,
however, have been praising the attack on social media without consequence.





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Peshawar Suicide Bombing Kills 100, TTP Members Praise Attack



(New York, N.Y.) — On Monday, a suicide bombing
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at a Peshawar mosque killed 100 and wounded over 225 others. Initially claimed
by al-Qaeda affiliate groupTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
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(TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, the attack is now being credited
to a powerful TTP faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA). Many TTP members, however,
have been praising the attack on social media without consequence.



“It is shocking that members from the U.S., EU, and U.N. sanctioned terrorist
group, the TTP, have been able to openly praise Monday’s attack on mainstream
social media platforms,” saidDr. Hans-Jakob Schindler
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, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and former coordinator
of the U.N. Security Council’s ISIL (Da’esh), al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions
Monitoring Team. “The language strongly glorifies violence and the accounts are
clearly marked as members of the TTP leadership. Terrorists should not be given
any type of platform to push their harmful rhetoric and social media platforms
should move swiftly to block this content. Given the open way these accounts
operate, monitoring and restricting them is not a compliance challenge.
Incitement towards violence and hatred is wrong and harmful, including when it
is not posted in English or directed against Western societies. However, as in
the past, social media companies have spotty moderation of its content in
English and even fewer protections for content in other languages. While
earning money globally, apparently, companies only feel some responsibility for
some content in some regions.”



Since the TTP ended
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its ceasefire with Islamabad in November 2022, Pakistan has seen a surge in
attacks, especially in Peshawar where the TTP has a strong presence. The group
claimed it was increasingly targeted by the Pakistani military, particularly in
the Lakki Marwat district of Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.



In December 2022—after calling off the ceasefire that had been facilitated the
Taliban Haqqani network
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, once again highlighting the near symbiotic relationship between the Taliban
and international terror networks—the TTPseized
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control of a counterterrorism center in northwestern Pakistan. The terror
group held hostages and demanded safe passage into neighboring Afghanistan.
Following failed negotiations, Pakistani armed forces forcibly regained control
of the counterterrorism center two days later, killing 25 of the 35 attackers.
According to the Pakistani army
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, one hostage and two commandos were also killed.



To read CEP’s resource Pakistan: Extremism and Terrorism, please click here
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.



To read CEP’s resource Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), please click here
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.



To read CEP’s resource Haqqani Network, please click here
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.



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