Suicide bomber kills 40 in Pak mosque

In raging violence in Pakistan's restive North West, a suicide bomber on Friday blew himself up in a mosque packed with worshippers killing 40 people and wounding 50 others, while a roadside bomb hit an army convoy killing seven security personnel.

"At least 40 people were killed and 50 injured in the blast," local officials told reporters.

The blast occurred as over 200 people had gathered for Friday prayers in the mosque at Hayagai Sherqi in Upper Dir district which borders Swat where the military has launched an air and ground assault on the Taliban.

This was the ninth bomb attack in NWFP since the army launched a campaign in Swat Valley, where the army chief General Ashfaq Kayani has claimed that "the tide was decisively turning in favour of military."

The suicide bomber blew himself up when people tried to prevent him from entering the mosque. The explosion damaged the mosque and destroyed several nearby shops.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which coincided with US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke's visit to refugee camps in nearby Mardan.