17 killed, 70 injured in blast near Pakistan mosque

Police officers clear the way for ambulances leaving a bomb explosion site, at the main entry gate of police offices, in Peshawar, Pakistan on January 30, 2023. A bomb went off Monday near a mosque and police offices in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least a few people and wounding 70 worshippers, police and government officials said. PHOTO AP PESHAWAR, Pakistan - At least 17 people were killed and 70 others wounded in a mosque in northwest Peshawar city, police and hospital officials said on Monday.

Mohammad Asim, a spokeswoman for Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said over 15 people of the wounded were being treated at the medical facility, adding that over 15 people of the wounded were in critical condition.

According to the police officials in Peshawar, the nature of the blast was determined, and further information would be shared after an investigation into the explosion.

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Eyewitnesses from the area told Xinhua that it was a suicide attack, and the suicide bomber was in front rows of worshippers when he blew himself up, killing and wounding dozens of people offering afternoon prayers in the mosque.

A portion of the mosque collapsed, and several people were believed to be buried under the collapsed building, as a rescue operation was still underway, said the police.

After the explosion, rescue teams, police and security forces arrived at the site and shifted the wounded people to the hospital. The police have launched an investigation into the bombing and cordoned off the area.

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No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.