Blast at mosque in Pakistan’s Peshawar kills at least 28 worshippers, over 150 injured

The blast occured during prayers while 260 people were inside the mosque, located close to a police housing block. A two storey building has collapsed, based on local news reports.

An explosion in a mosque near a police housing block in Peshawar as left 19 dead and over 90 injured | PTI

Peshawar: An explosion inside a mosque killed at least 28 people and wounded 150 more in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar on Monday, a government official said, and many of the casualties were police officers who had gathered for noon prayers.

The mosque was located inside a compound that includes the headquarters of the provincial police force and a counter-terrorism department, Peshawar’s police chief Ijaz Khan said.

The possibility of a suicide bombing could not be ruled out, he said, adding that traces of explosives were found inside the mosque.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, which ripped through the crowded mosque, causing a wall to collapse.

The building is located in a highly fortified area of the city. There were at least 260 people inside, a police official Sikandar Khan said.

“A portion of the building had collapsed and several people are believed to be under it,” he added. – Reuters

(Reporting by Jibran Ahmed in Peshawar, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; editing by Sudipto, Miral Fahmy and Simon Cameron-Moore)

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