PESHAWAR: At least 20 people have been killed and around 40 injured after a brutal attack on a mosque in Northwest Pakistan, according to wire services.

According to DawnNews, The District Police Officer of Lower Dir has confirmed that a militant attack on a sunni mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramazan has led to at least twenty dead and many more injured on Thursday evening.

"The attackers first lobbed grenades into the mosque and then opened fire with Kalashnikovs on the worshippers," Bahadur Khan, the mayor of the village in Dir district of North West Frontier Province, said.

According to a senior security official the attackers fled into the mountains after the attack.

“People were offering prayers inside the mosque when unidentified people threw several grenades, causing bloodshed and mayhem,” police officer Naveed Khan told said.

Local district official Mahmood Khan said three grenades were lobbed into the mosque which hit the last two rows of the congregation. Children were among the victims, Khan said.

“An emergency has been declared in the hospital to treat the wounded,” he stated.

The attack occurred in Lower Dir, a region just north of Bajaur along the Western borders with Afghanistan.

The violence brings a sudden end to the relative cooling of hostilities following an offer of ceasefire by the Pakistan government for the Muslim holy month of Ramazan. Although the Tehreek-i-Taliban rejected the offer, their spokesman Maulvi Omar had claimed that attacks would be targeted purely at the government and paramilitary forces. (Agencies)