At least three killed in Peshawar mosque blast

PESHAWAR: A bomb attack at a mosque in Peshawar killed three people and wounded 22 others as worshippers filed out after the Friday prayers, officials said.

The planted bomb detonated in a congested neighbourhood on the western outskirts of the city.

“A bomb blast took place at a mosque in the Pishtakharra area,” police official Mohammad Karim Khan told AFP, referring to a congested neighbourhood in the city.

“Three people were killed and 22 wounded in the attack,” city police chief Liaquat Ali told reporters, updating an earlier police toll of two.

“The target was people in the mosque and the purpose was to create a scare,” he added. Most of the wounded sustained minor injuries, he said.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualties and police said the attack was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).

“It was an IED,” police official Mohammad Naeem told AFP.