Peshawar, Jan 30 (IANS): At least 17 people were killed and 83 others injured after a blast ripped through a mosque in Pakistan's Peshawar city on Monday, officials said.

Mohammad Asim, a spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital (LRC), confirmed the casualties, adding that some of the injured persons were in critical condition, reports Dawn news.

The blast occurred at around 1.40 p.m. as prayers were being offered at the mosque located in the city's Police Lines area.

According to the Dawn news report, personnel of the police, army and bomb disposal squads were currently present inside the mosque.

It added that a portion of the mosque had collapsed and several people were believed to be trapped under it.

However, it remains unclear if the explosion was due to suicide bombing or if the bomb was planted inside the mosque.

Strongly condemning the attack, former Prime Minister Imran Khan condoled the victims and the injured and said in a tweet: "It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering & properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism."

On March 4, 2022, 63 people were killed and 196 others injured during a suicide bombing inside a Shia mosque in Peshawar's Kocha Risaldar area.

The Islamic State terror group's Khorasan unit (IS-K) claimed responsibility for the attack.