Bomb attack at Pakistan mosque kills at least 21 people

At least 21 people have been killed and dozens wounded in an attack on a mosque near police offices in Pakistan.

A vehicle bomb exploded at the mosque in Kohat, north-western Pakistan, as gunmen stormed the compound and exchanged fire with officers.

Militant violence near the Afghanistan border has surged, with Pakistani Taliban militants increasingly targeting police and other security forces as the government intensifies operations against them.

A vehicle bomb has exploded at a mosque near police offices in north-western Pakistan as gunmen tried to storm the compound in an attack that killed at least 21 people and wounded 80 others, police and rescue officials say.

Among those killed and wounded were police officers attending prayers at the mosque.

The coordinated assault was the latest in a surge of militant violence near the border with Afghanistan, where Pakistani Taliban militants have increasingly targeted police and other security forces as the government intensifies operations against them.

An attacker apparently rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the mosque, said Zulfiqar Hameed, the provincial police chief.

At least seven armed gunmen also attempted to enter the police compound and exchanged fire with officers.

Six of the gunmen were killed, according to police, who said one suicide bomber attacked the nearby office of an intelligence agency.

The police compound housed counter-terrorism police, who had carried out operations against militants across the province in recent years.

Most of those killed were police officers, hospital officials said. Bilal Faizi, a senior rescue official, said most of the dead and wounded had been attending prayers at the mosque.

Residents said the exchange of fire continued hours after the coordinated attack.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and expressed sorrow over the casualties. He directed authorities to accelerate rescue operations.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, formally known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.