ISLAMABAD, May 18- At least 20 people were killed and 50 others injured when twin blasts hit two Sunni mosques in Pakistan’s northwest Malakand district on Friday afternoon, Xinhua news agency reported, citing local media report.
Urdu TV channel Dunya reported that the two bombs exploded almost simultaneously at about 2:00 p.m. (local time) in the Bazdara Bala area of Malakand, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Local paramilitary troops confirmed that the first blast took place before Friday prayer and the second followed when Sunni Muslims were offering prayer in another mosque in the same area.
One of the mosques’ building was razed to ground following the blast, with at least eight people buried under the debris, while the other mosque was damaged seriously.
The injured people were shifted to Dargai Hospital where several of them were in critical condition.
The nature of blast has not been determined yet, but local media quoted eyewitnesses as saying that one of the blasts was carried out by a suicide bomber.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Police has cordoned off the area and investigation has started.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the blasts and urged the best medical services to the injured people.
Chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Sharif also condemned the blast.
– BERNAMA
