Senior cleric among 4 worshippers injured in bomb explosion at mosque in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Peshawar: Four worshippers, including a senior cleric, were injured when a bomb exploded during Friday prayers at a mosque in northwest Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.

District Police Officer Asif Bahader said an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded at Maulana Abdul Aziz Mosque in South Waziristan, injuring Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) district chief Maulana Abdullah Nadeem among others.

The official said the device was planted in the mosque’s pulpit.

He said rescuers immediately arrived at the site and the injured were being moved to the district hospital in Wana.

“The police have also reached the site and are collecting evidence,” he said. “Further investigation is underway.”

Mosques, particularly during Friday prayers when large congregations gather, have been targeted in the province in the past as well.

Last month, six people, including JUI-S leader Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, were killed and 15 injured when a suicide blast ripped through the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in the province.