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Suicide bombing at Pakistan Shiite mosque kills more than 50 people

A worshiper takes photos of the Shiite Muslim mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Friday after a suicide bombing killed dozens of people, authorities said.  Photo by Arshad Arbab/EPA-EFE
A worshiper takes photos of the Shiite Muslim mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Friday after a suicide bombing killed dozens of people, authorities said.  Photo by Arshad Arbab/EPA-EFE

March 4 (UPI) -- Dozens of people were killed in Pakistan when authorities say a suicide bomber exploded himself inside a Shiite Muslim mosque during Friday prayers.

The attack occurred in Peshawar in Pakistan's north, about 90 miles northwest of Islamabad. Officials said that roughly 60 people were killed.

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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government spokesman Mohammad Ali Saif said that two people were involved in the assault, which began when they attacked police guards outside the mosque.

Police said a man on a motorcycle killed two police guards before the blast went off.

"We are trying to figure out and determine what happened," police chief Moazzam Jah said, according to The New York Times.

No terrorist group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Pakistani intelligence officials say they suspect ISIS-K, an affiliate group of the Islamic State.

"Several people tried to break into [the mosque]," police in Peshawar said in a tweet. "There has been firing on the policemen on duty."

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