56 killed in suicide attack at mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan

A bomb blast during Friday prayers in a mosque in northern Pakistan has killed at least 56 people according to hospital officials and injured about 65 others.

The attack took place at the Kocha-e-Rasladar Mosque in Peshawar, near the border with Afghanistan.

Muhammad Ali Saif, advisor to the chief minister, said: "Two men fired on the police personnel manning the entrance to the mosque, one gunman was killed while the other ran inside the mosque and blew himself up."

An eyewitness said that the man who ran inside was dressed in black and at first fired five to six bullets before detonating a bomb.

He said: "There were many bodies lying around and he helped take some of the injured out."

The other attacker and a policeman were killed in the gunfight, and another police official was wounded.

Friday prayers were taking place inside the mosque where about 150 people had gathered on the ground and first floor.

The attack comes on the first day of a cricket Test match in Rawalpindi -- around 190 kilometres (120 miles) to the east -- between Pakistan and Australia, who haven't toured the country in nearly a quarter of a century because of security concerns. (Foreign Media)