Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Peshawar explosion: Suicide bombing at Pakistan mosque kills at least 56 people

A suicide bombing at a mosque in Pakistan has killed at least 56 people, police and hospital officials said.

The death toll in the northwestern city of Peshawar is expected to rise substantially as many of the injured are in critical condition.

The authorities have not said who is behind the deadly and harrowing attack.

Heartbreaking images show bodies covered up outside the mosque minutes after the blast.

"We are in a state of emergency and the injured are being shifted to the hospital," police officer Mohammad Sajjad Khan said.

One witness Ali Asghar claimed they saw the attacker enter the mosque before Friday prayers and open " fire with a pistol" - picking out the worshippers "one-by-one".

Heartbreaking images show bodies covered up outside the mosque in Peshawar (ARSHAD ARBAB/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

He "then blew himself up", he said.

Mohammad Aasim, spokesman of the Lady Reading Hospital, where victims have been brought, told Reuters they had received dozens of bodies.

Senior police official Ijaz Khan confirmed many had been killed and that it was a suicide bombing.

He told Reuters that two armed men arrived near the mosque on a motorcycle and were stopped for a search by police on duty outside.

Dozens of people were killed inside the mosque as a state of emergency was declared (AFP via Getty Images)

"They opened fire on the police...and entered the mosque," he said.

Police are still determining if both had carried out suicide attacks inside the mosque.

Muhammad Ali Saif, a spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government some 80 others wounded in the blast near Peshawar's Kocha Risaldar.

One witness saw the attacker enter the mosque before Friday prayers (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

"It was a suicide attack," he said.

He said two police officers were shot at the entrance of the mosque.

"One policeman died on the spot while the other was critically injured," he said.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Imran Khan's office said he "strongly condemned" the attack.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the apparent suicide bombing.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.