Suicide bomber breaches high security, kills 47 in Pakistani mosque - Reuters

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, the worst in Peshawar since March 2022 when an Islamic State suicide bombing killed at least 58 people in a Shi'ite Muslim mosque during Friday prayers.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo TV that the bomber was standing in the first row of worshippers.

"As the prayer leader said 'Allah is the greatest', there was a big bang," Mushtaq Khan, a policeman with a head wound, told reporters from his hospital bed.

Live TV footage showed rescuers cutting through the collapsed rooftop to make their way down and tend to victims caught in the wreckage.

"The U.S. mission in Pakistan expressed deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the horrific attack," Washington's embassy said a statement.

Peshawar, which straddles the edge of Pakistan's tribal districts bordering Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, is frequently targeted by Islamist militant groups including Islamic State and the Pakistani Taliban.