Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants have been blamed for bombings targeting civilian and government security targets across Pakistan. — Photo by Reuters

PESHAWAR: A bomb exploded near a mosque in northwest Pakistan on Monday killing a woman and three children, just hours after the United States said it killed Osama bin Laden near the capital.

The attack took place in the town of Charsadda, about 85 miles west of Abbottabad, the leafy garrison town where US special forces killed bin Laden in a shootout early Monday.

The mosque is located close to a police station, which appeared to be the target, local police chief Nisar Khan Marwat said.

Five people were also wounded, two of them police officials, he said.

The bomb destroyed the mosque and damaged the outer wall of the police station, he added.

There was no claim of responsibility, but Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants have been blamed for bombings targeting civilian and government security targets across Pakistan that have killed more than 4,240 people.