Pakistan: Suicide Bombing During Friday Prayers At Shia Mosque In Peshawar Kills 45 And Injures Over 80

A deadly suicide bomb attack at a Shi'ite mosque during Friday prayers in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar has killed at least 30 people.

At least 65 people have been injured, according to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister Kamran Bangash.

According to eye witness accounts, At least 150 worshippers were inside the mosque at the time of the explosion.

The injured were rushed to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. "We have declared an emergency at the hospitals," said Muhammad Asim Khan, the Hospital spokesman said.

Police and rescue personnel have reached the blast site in the Kocha Risaldar area while the injured are being shifted to the nearby health facilities.

Pakistan's Shi'ite minority has long been targeted by Sunni Muslim Islamist militants, including Islamic State and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. Thousands of people have been killed, most of them Shias, in Pakistan's sectarian violence in recent years.

According to initial reports, two attackers tried to enter a mosque in the city's Qissa Khwani Bazaar and fired at the policemen standing guard.

While one of the attackers was killed in the gunfight with the cops, the otjer attacker managed to enter the mosque and detonated a bomb.

The attack comes as the Australian cricket team are touring Pakistan for the first time in over two decades and are staying in Islamabad, 140 kilometres (87 miles) from Peshawar.

Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the attack and directed provision of immediate medical treatment to the injured, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

President Dr Arif Alvi also joined the PM in condemned the terror attack and expressed grief over the precious lives lost. He expressed sympathy with the families of the departed and also prayed for the recovery of the injured.