Pakistan: Dozens injured after blast near mosque in Peshawar
A police official building, where a large number of people had gathered for worship, had collapsed and that several people were believed to be trapped under the rubble. Authorities said they suspected a suicide bombing.
At least 17 people have been killed and a further 90 injured after an explosion near a mosque in the city of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan, local authorities said on Monday.
"A portion of the building had collapsed and several people are believed to be under it," police official Sikandar Khan told Reuters news agency.
There are fears that the death toll will continue to rise as emergency services clear the rubble, and many of those who have been taken to hospital were listed in critical condition.
Suicide bombing suspected
The blast occured in the city's government district on Police Lines Road. Authorities said many of the victims were believed to be police officers.
Peshawar in the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.
Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, local police told reporters that initial evidence suggested a suicide attack. Such attacks in the past have often been at the hands of the Pakistani Taliban.
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