Pakistani troops on Friday consolidated their positions in Swat and nearby areas in the wake of two attacks by Taliban fighters that killed 14 security personnel, even as militants retaliated by targeting a mosque, leaving 40 dead.

The security forces also killed 10 more militants and apprehended six terrorists, including three activists of the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi in different parts of Malakand division, the military said in a statement.

Fourteen security personnel were injured in fighting over the past 24 hours.

At least 40 people were killed and dozens injured when a suicide bomber struck during Friday prayers at a crowded mosque in the restive Dir area of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province. The powerful blast occurred when over 200 people were present in the mosque at Hayagai Sherqi in Upper Dir district, witnesses said. Top district official Atif-ur-Rehman told reporters at least 40 people were killed and dozens injured.

Doctors described the condition of several of the injured as critical. This was the ninth bomb attack in Pakistan since the Army launched a campaign against the Taliban in Swat. Local residents said the attack targeted a community that had resisted the Taliban in recent times.

A police official in the district told state-run APP news agency that militants targeted the mosque as local residents had stopped the Taliban’s activities and barred their entry into the area. This had annoyed the militants, he said.

Witnesses said the suicide bomber detonated his explosives when some persons tried to prevent him from entering the mosque. The explosion damaged the mosque and destroyed 14 nearby shops. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which coincided with US Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke’s visit to Pakistan.

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