A bombing at a Shiite mosque in Pakistan’s tribal region on Friday killed at least 22 people and injured dozens more, officials told CNN.
The explosion rocked Parachinar. The city is the capital of Kurram Agency — a district in the federally administered tribal areas in northwestern Pakistan.
The Kurram region has endured many militant attacks because it borders war-torn Afghanistan.
Jamat Ul Ahrar, a Pakistan Taliban splinter group, claimed responsibility for the attack, in a statement sent via text to media.
At least 57 people were injured, a local health official said.
Outside a gate used by women
The incident took place at 11:30 a.m. The mosque is in the city’s central bazaar, outside a gate used exclusively by women, according to Shahid Ali Khan, a Kurram political official.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s office issued a statement, saying the attack underscores the government’s “unflinching resolve to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country at all costs”
“The network of terrorists has already been broken and it is our national duty to continue this war until the complete annihilation of the scourge of terrorism from our soil,” the statement said.
An attack claimed by the same group occurred in another part of the tribal region in September. The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for a market explosion in Parachinar in January.