ISLAMABAD - At least ten persons were killed and many others injured when a bomb exploded in a mosque near a shrine on Friday in Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local sources said.

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According to police, when the bomb blast occurred dozens of people were present in the mosque to offer Friday prayers in the Akbarpura area, outskirts of the Nowshera city.

More casualties are also feared as the bomb explosion was of high intensity.

Rescue teams and local people are busy in rescue work and shifting the injured to the city's district hospital.

About 20 severely injured have been brought to Lady Reading hospital in provincial capital Peshawar where four of them succumbed to injuries.

Initial police reports said that the bomb was planted in a cupboard in the mosque.

According to local TV channel Samma, the explosion was carried out through a remote-controlled device.