At least 25 people have been killed in a suicide bombing claimed by a Taliban splinter group at a mosque in Pakistan.

The blast struck as Muslims gathered for Friday prayers in the village of Payee Khan in Mohmand Agency district.

“The suicide bomber was in crowded mosque, he shouted 'Allahu Akbar', and then there was a huge blast,” Naveed Akbar, deputy administrator of the region, told Reuters.

Officials said at least 25 people were killed and 30 injured and there were fears the death toll could rise as rescue operations continued.

Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the attack, with local tribal elder Haji Subhanullah Mohmand suggesting it may have been revenge for the killing of a militant by tribal volunteers.

“It seems to have enraged the militants and they got their revenge by carrying out a suicide attack in a mosque today,” he said.

Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, condemned the bombing and said “attacks by terrorists cannot shatter the government's resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country.”

The military says security is improving, with recorded “terrorist incidents” dropping from 128 in 2013 to 74 last year - but Islamist extremists continue to stage major attacks.

Friday's bombing came a day after a woman was killed by a grenade in Lower Mohmand Agency when militants attacked a pro-government tribal elder's home.

Largely deeply conservative, the territory is remote and hard to access, providing sanctuary for extremist fighters targeted in decades of military operations and drone strikes.

Tehrik-i-Taliban (Pakistani Taliban) militants are waging an Islamist insurgency in the area and have launched a series of bombing attacks and assaults on security services.

Its Jamaat ul-Ahrar faction claimed responsibility for a bombing targeting lawyers that killed 74 people in the city of Quetta last month, as well as the the Easter Sunday blasts in Lahore that killed 72 people, many of them children.

Al-Qaeda fighters are also present in Pakistan, while Isis has recently bene seeking to increase its presence in the country and neighbouring Afghanistan, where it has founded an affiliate called Khorasan Province. </s> At least 25 people are dead in northwestern Pakistan, after a suicide bomber shouted "Allahu akbar" and blew himself up in a packed mosque, a local official says.

At least 30 other people were wounded in the attack during Friday (Saturday NZ Time) prayers.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in Payee Khan, a village in Mohmand Agency that is part of the lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan.

"The suicide bomber was in a crowded mosque, he shouted 'Allahu akbar' (God is greatest) and then there was a huge blast," Naveed Akbar, deputy administrator of Mohmand Agency, told Reuters.

Akbar added that some fatalities appear to have been caused when part of the mosque caved in from the force of the blast.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the bombing and said the "attacks by terrorists cannot shatter the government's resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country".

Local tribal elder Haji Subhanullah Mohmand said the attack may have been carried out by Islamist militants seeking revenge after local tribesmen gathered a volunteer force and killed one and captured another insurgent.

Pakistan's frontier regions, which are deeply conservative and hard to access due to rough terrain, have long been the sanctuary of fighters from al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups.

In 2014 the army launched a major operation in other parts of FATA including North and South Waziristan against insurgents who routinely attacked government officials and civilians.

Security in Pakistan has improved in recent years - the military says "terrorist incidents" dropped from 128 in 2013 to 74 last year - but Islamist extremists continue to stage major attacks.

A bombing of lawyers in the city of Quetta killed 74 people last month, an attack claimed by both the Islamic State and Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban.

Jamaat-ur-Ahrar also claimed the Easter Sunday bombing in a park in the eastern city of Lahore that killed 72 people, many of them children. </s> Suicide bombers attacked a court complex in Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least four people, officials said, in the latest incident in a new surge of Islamist violence.A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction claimed responsibility for the attack in the northwestern town of Charsadda.The district administration said at least four people were killed. A witness told Reuters he had seen "many" dead bodies at the scene.A string of bombings in Pakistan over the past 10 days has killed more than 100 people.Town resident Mohammad Shah Baz told Reuters he was inside the judicial complex when the suicide bombers stormed it."I escaped towards the canteen and climbed the wall to save my life. But there were many people dead and injured," he said.District police chief Sohail Khalid said at least one of the attackers blew himself up and another opened fire at the main entrance of the court compound before they were shot and killed.Jamaat-ur-Ahrar spokesman Asad Mansoor claimed responsibility the attack in a message to journalists. He said fighting was still going on at the court. </s> PESHAWAR/KARACHI: Twin blasts tore through a market crowded with Eid shoppers in a mainly Shia town, a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car and militants opened fire on police in separate attacks in Pakistan’s three major cities today, killing 42 people and wounding 121 others.

The suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car near Inspector General of Police Ehsan Mehboob’s office in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, killing at least 13 people, including seven policemen, and wounding 21 others.

The blast was claimed by both the local affiliate of the Islamic State terror group and by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a splinter group of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Thirteen people, including seven policemen, died in the suicide car bombing, officials said.

Hours later, two back-to-back blasts tore through a market crowded with the people shopping for Eid in the Shia- dominated Parachinar city in the Kurram tribal region, killing at least 25 people, mostly Shias, and injuring 100 others. (AGENCIES) </s> Twin blasts tore through a market crowded with Eid shoppers in a mainly Shia town, a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car and militants opened fire on police in separate attacks in Pakistan's three major cities today, killing 62 people and wounding nearly 100.

The suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car near Inspector General of Police Ehsan Mehboob's office in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, killing at least 13 people, including seven policemen, and wounding 21 others.

The blast was claimed by both the local affiliate of the Islamic State terror group and by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a splinter group of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Thirteen people, including seven policemen, died in the suicide car bombing, officials said.

Hours later, two back-to-back blasts tore through a market crowded with the people shopping for Eid in the Shia- dominated Parachinar city in the Kurram tribal region, killing at least 45 people, mostly Shias, and injuring 75 others.

The first blast occurred during rush hour in Turi Market, where a bus terminal is also located. The second blast took place as rescuers and bystanders rushed to aid those who had been hurt in the first explosion.

At least 45 people have been killed and 75 others injured in Parachinar, an official from the Parachinar administration told </s> Jamaat-ul-Ahra, a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the bombing that also injured 34 people, according to the group's spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan.

The attack took place at one of the biggest mosques in Mohmand Agency, a district in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas north of Peshawar, said Naveed Akbar, assistant administrator for the agency.

Two children under the age of 10 were killed in the blast while four children under the age of 10 are among the injured, Akbar said.

The official said the suicide bomber detonated his device inside the packed hall of the mosque, which has a capacity of 100 to 150 people.

Screams could be heard after the blast, and body parts were found scattered around the mosque, Akhbar said. He said the death toll is likely to grow. "The cowardly attacks by terrorists cannot shatter the government's resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country," he said. Jamaat-ul-Ahra has carried out several major attacks in Pakistan this year, including a bombing on August 8 that targeted lawyers and journalists and killed more than 72 people. </s> Twin blasts tore through a market crowded with Eid shoppers in a mainly Shia town, a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car and militants opened fire on police in separate attacks in Pakistan's three major cities today, killing 42 people and wounding 121 others.

The suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car near Inspector General of Police Ehsan Mehboob's office in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, killing at least 13 people, including seven policemen, and wounding 21 others.

The blast was claimed by both the local affiliate of the Islamic State terror group and by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a splinter group of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Thirteen people, including seven policemen, died in the suicide car bombing, officials said.

Hours later, two back-to-back blasts tore through a market crowded with the people shopping for Eid in the Shia- dominated Parachinar city in the Kurram tribal region, killing at least 25 people, mostly Shias, and injuring 100 others.

The first blast occurred during rush hour in Turi Market, where a bus terminal is also located. The second blast took place as rescuers and bystanders rushed to aid those who had been hurt in the first explosion.

Medical Superintendent of the District General Hospital, Parachinar, Sabir Hussain, said that at least 25 people are killed and over 100 others injured in the blasts. More than 20 of the injured were in critical condition.

No group claimed responsibility for the blasts. However, Sunni militant groups have claimed responsibility for several attacks in the area in the past.

In the evening, two armed men on a motorcycle, with their faces covered with helmets, opened fire on police officers at a roadside restaurant in Karachi and killed four of them.

An assistant sub-inspector was among those killed in the attack, said Superintendent of Police Asif Ahmad.

In Parachinar, officials said the blasts on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramazan targeted people shopping in the area and those heading out of the city ahead of Eid.

The emergency and rescue services shifted injured to Agency Headquarters hospital Parachinar. The security forces cordon off the entire area and started search operation.

Pakistan Army contingents and FC personnel reached the site of the attack to aid in rescue efforts.

"Two Army aviation helicopters have taken off from Peshawar to Parachinar for the speedy evacuation of the injured to Peshawar," the army said in a statement.

On March 31, a car bomb blast near an Imambargah of Shia Muslims killed 23 people and injured 70 others in Parachinar.

In January, 25 people were killed and 87 others when a bomb tore through a crowded vegetable market in the same city.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attacks, saying that terrorists involved in the attacks will be taken to task and all out efforts will be taken to eliminate terrorism.

President Mamnoon Hussain, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Governor Balochistan Muhammad Khan Achakzai and former president Asif Ali Zardari, among others, also condemned the attack.

Balochistan government spokesperson Anwarul Haq Kakar told Geo News that the suspected Quetta bomber tried to break a security perimeter to target the police offices but blew up after policemen standing guard attempted to stop him.

Of the injured, nine are said to be policemen.

DIG Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema, addressing the media, said they are examining CCTV footage to determine the details of the incident.

Officials said body parts of the suspected bomber, strewn across the site of the blast, were being collected along with other evidence for forensic examination.

An initial investigation report by Civil Defence Director Aslam Tareen revealed that 75 kilograms of explosives were used in the Quetta blast.

Footage of the incident showed two vehicles badly damaged in the explosion, while debris lay scattered on the street.

Officials said the explosion was loud enough to be heard from a distance and shattered windows of nearby buildings.

Earlier this year, on February 13, a blast took place near the Saryab Bridge in Quetta killing two personnel of the bomb disposal squad and leaving 11 injured.

Later in March, an explosion targeting a security forces convoy occurred on Saryab Road. Four people were injured including three Frontier Corps personnel and a passer-by.

In August, last year, a suicide bomber targeted the emergency services ward at Civil Hospital, following the death of the president of the Balochistan High Court Bar Association, killing at least 70 people and leaving many wounded. </s> Three suicide bombers who targeted a court in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were killed on Tuesday, the ghastly attack also leaving five others dead, authorities said.

At least three attackers attempted to enter the Sessions Court at Charsadda district through the main gate when the complex was crowded, media reports said. The terrorists suddenly opened fire and threw grenades, prompting police and security forces to fire back, the Dawn said after speaking to officers and witnesses.

One of the bombers was killed in the firing at the gate and a second died as he entered the court. The third bomber was killed when he detonated his explosives, police told the Dawn. Police officer Fayaz Khan was quoted as saying that five civilians were also killed in the terror attack, for which the outlawed Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility.

Some reports said a lawyer was among the dead and that up to 17 persons were injured. Urdu TV channel Abb Takk said the injured included five policemen, Xinhua news agency reported. Up to 10 ambulances were rushed to Charsadda from Peshawar, where the Lady Reading Hospital was put on high alert.

The attack come even though security had been heightened across the province and the rest of Pakistan after a wave of terror attacks that left over 100 people dead in the past 10 days. Charsadda is located nearly 40 minutes away Peshawar.

Earlier, gunfire was heard after one of the blasts near the gate of the court located at Tangi Bazaar. The Dawn quoted witnesses as saying that the remains of the bombers were lying along with their explosives and ammunition.

On February 16, a suicide attack on the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sindh killed 88 persons and injured more than 200. The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, with ties to the Islamic State, had also claimed responsibility for the carnage. </s> No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in Payee Khan, a village in Mohmand Agency that is part of the lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) bordering Afghanistan.

"The suicide bomber was in a crowded mosque, he shouted 'Allahu akbar' (God is greatest) and then there was a huge blast," Naveed Akbar, deputy administrator of Mohmand Agency, told Reuters.

Akbar added that some fatalities appear to have been caused when part of the mosque caved in from the force of the blast.

"A portion of the mosque and verandah collapsed in the blast and fell on worshippers. We are still retrieving bodies and the injured from the rubble of the mosque," he said.

Local tribal elder Haji Subhanullah Mohmand said the attack may have been carried out by Islamist militants seeking revenge after local tribesmen gathered a volunteer force and killed one and captured another insurgent.

"It seems to have enraged the militants and they got their revenge by carrying out a suicide attack in a mosque today," Mohmand said.

Pakistan's frontier regions, which are deeply conservative and hard to access due to rough terrain, have long been the sanctuary of fighters from al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups.

In 2014 the army launched a major operation in other parts of FATA including North and South Waziristan against insurgents who routinely attacked government officials and civilians.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the bombing and said the "attacks by terrorists cannot shatter the government's resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country."

Security in Pakistan has improved in recent years - the military says "terrorist incidents" dropped from 128 in 2013 to 74 last year - but Islamist extremists continue to stage major attacks.

A bombing of lawyers in the city of Quetta killed 74 people last month, an attack claimed by both the Islamic State and Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban.

Jamaat-ur-Ahrar also claimed the Easter Sunday bombing in a park in the eastern city of Lahore that killed 72 people, many of them children.

Most of the myriad militant groups that stage attacks inside Pakistan seek to overthrow the government to establish an Islamic theocracy and impose a stricter interpretation of the religion than is practiced in much of the country.

Other armed groups based in the country target neighboring Afghanistan and Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Two separate bombings take place in Pakistan, killing at least seven people. A suicide bomber kills five people at the administrative headquarters in the Mohmand Agency tribal district while the other kills two people at a hospital in Peshawar. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claims responsibility for the first attack.