Local media and foreign media reported that a suicide bomb attack targeting police officers at a mosque in northwestern Pakistan resulted in nearly 200 casualties.



According to reports, on the 30th (local time), a gunman detonated a bomb while worship was in progress at a mosque in the police complex in northwestern Peshawar.



A police official said the gunman blew himself up while standing in front of the congregation.



Reuters and others reported that at least 44 people were killed and 157 injured, citing authorities.



The death toll is higher than the first known 34.



AFP news agency, citing hospital officials, said at least 47 people had died.



It is known that 300 to 350 people were praying in the mosque at the time of the suicide attack.



Most of the victims were police and the death toll is expected to rise, officials said.



Police officer Sikandar Khan said: "The explosion collapsed parts of the building and people appeared to be crushed by the rubble."



Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif issued a statement strongly condemning the attack and stressed that those behind it would be dealt with sternly.



Authorities dispatched security forces to the scene, transported the injured to hospitals, and increased vigilance.



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The place where the mosque is located is the area where the police station is located, and it is considered the strongest place in Peshawar.



It is unknown how the suicide bomber got there.



After the attack, the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, the Associated Press reported.



The TTP, which operates between Afghanistan and Pakistan, has stepped up its terror offensive after ending a ceasefire with the government in November last year.



On the 23rd of last month, the TTP carried out a suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad, killing one police officer.



On November 30 last year, the TTP also staged a suicide bombing targeting a police car in southwestern Quetta, killing or injuring dozens of people.



Formed as a coalition of Islamic militant groups, the TTP aims to overthrow the Pakistani government and build a state under Sharia (Islamic law), separate from the Taliban that has taken control of Afghanistan.



(Photo = AP, Yonhap News)