30 killed, over 50 injured as blast hits mosque in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A powerful blast hit a mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, leaving at least 30 people dead while wounding over 50 others, police and hospital officials said.

Two terrorists tried to enter the mosque and engaged in an exchange of fire with the police personnel on duty there, with one policeman killed and another seriously injured, Haroon Rasheed, senior superintendent of police operations of Peshawar, told Xinhua.

He said that soon after the firing incident, the explosion inside the mosque occurred, adding that according to initial investigation, it was a suicide attack on the worshippers.

Rescue teams, police and security forces reached the site and shifted the injured to Lady Reading Hospital in the city. At least 10 of the injured were in critical condition.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has condemned the deadly attack on the mosque and ordered immediate medical aid for the wounded.

The prime minister also urged a detailed report on the blast from related departments.

No group or individual has claimed the attack.