Pakistan suicide attack | Death toll rises to 25, at least 30 injured in blast inside mosque

The group said it was a revenge attack, accusing tribesmen in the area of launching an assault on its forces and of capturing militants and handing them over to the government.

Jamat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The death toll includes five children. 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed his grief over the loss of lives in the blast. "The cowardly attacks by terrorists cannot shatter the government's resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country," he said in a statement.

The death toll in the blast has now risen to 25, with at least 30 reported to be injured. "A portion of the mosque and veranda collapsed in the blast and fell on worshippers. We are still retrieving bodies and the injured from rubble of the mosque building," Naveed Akbar, deputy administrator of Mohmand Agency, told Reuters.

Rescue operations are currently underway. The bodies and injured people are being shifted to local hospitals for medical treatment. The Injured are also being transported to hospitals in Bajaur Agency, Charsadda and Peshawar for treatment.

The suicide attacker blew himself up in the verandah of the mosque, according to media reports. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility by any group.