At least 56 dead in Pakistan mosque bombing

At least 56 people are dead in Pakistan after a suicide bomber struck a mosque while individuals were praying. 

The Shiite Muslim mosque in the city of Peshawar was attacked by a man wearing a large black shawl that covered a suicide vest that held 12 pounds of explosives, according to Moazzam Jah Ansari, the top police official for Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Province, and video reviewed by The Associated Press.

Before entering the mosque and detonating the device, the man shot at the two policemen standing guard outside the building, killing one and wounding the other.

It is unclear if the death toll will rise as Asim Khan, spokesperson for Lady Reading Hospital, said many had been brought in in critical condition, according to the AP.

The hospital struggled to accommodate all the injured while hundreds of relatives begged for information about loved ones. 

The prime minister of Pakistan has condemned the attacks, and no militant group has yet claimed responsibility for the incident. 

The AP noted that ISIS and the Pakistani Taliban have both carried out similar bombings in the region before.