New Zealand holds remembrance prayers for 51 Muslims murdered in masjids

New Zealand has marked the second anniversary of one of its most traumatic days, when 51 Muslims were killed at two masjids by a white gunman.

Kiran Munir, whose husband, Haroon Mahmood, was killed in the attacks, told the crowd she had lost the love of her life as the husband was a loving father of their two children.

Temel Atacocugu, who survived being shot nine times during the attack on Al Noor mosque, said the slaughter was caused by racism and ignorance and the survivors would never be able to erase the pain in their hearts.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the crowd that when preparing her speech, she had been at a loss for what to say because words would never change what happened.

Last year the terrorist Australian Brenton Tarrant, 30, pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In the March 15, 2019, attacks, killed 44 people at Al Noor mosque during Friday prayers before driving to the Linwood masjid, where he killed seven more.

After the attacks, New Zealand quickly passed new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons.