The attack occurred as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers at the mosque inside a police complex in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border, Al Jazeera reported.
An explosive-laden vehicle was rammed into the mosque’s entrance, after which gunmen attempted to enter the police compound and exchanged fire with security forces, according to provincial police chief Zulfikar Hameed.
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The dead included at least 15 police officers and six civilians, while the number of injured was reported at between more than 50 and 75 people by different sources.
Dr. Tahir Shah said at least 15 bodies and more than 50 injured people had been taken to hospitals, according to DPA. Senior rescue official Bilal Faizi told the Associated Press that most of the wounded were worshippers.
A faction of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. Ittehadul Mujahideen, a group linked to Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, said it carried out the bombing.
Al Jazeera correspondent Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said at least six attackers were killed during the subsequent gun battle.
The explosion severely damaged the mosque and caused the outer wall of the police station to collapse. Residents said the blast could be heard from a considerable distance.
The attack came a day after a roadside bomb killed six soldiers in a security forces convoy in the northwestern Hangu district. Pakistani security forces also conducted raids in several areas on Thursday, killing 10 suspected Taliban fighters, according to military and police officials.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban government of allowing the TTP and other armed groups to operate from Afghan territory. Officials in Kabul have denied the allegations.
The TTP is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have included intermittent cross-border attacks.
Michael Semple, a visiting professor at Queen’s University Belfast and former EU representative in Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera that an attack of this complexity would require significant planning, logistics and training.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bombing and ordered authorities to accelerate rescue operations.
The Interior Ministry also condemned what it called the attackers’ “cowardly actions,” saying they would not weaken the country’s resolve.
