Police officers clear the way for ambulances after a bomb explosion in Peshawar, Pakistan, January 30, 2023. (AP)

A bomb that targeted a mosque in Pakistan on Monday killed at least 32 people and injured 120, according to a local government official.

Peshawar city Deputy Commissioner Shafiullah Khan said as quoted by AFP, "I am here at the scene, and rescue work is ongoing," adding that "more bodies are being taken out. Currently, our priority is to save people buried under the debris."

Police reported that many worshippers were still trapped inside, and heavy machinery and fire departments were sifting the ruins for survivors in a frenzied rescue mission.

Officers said the explosion came from the second row of worshippers, and bomb disposal teams were investigating the potential of a suicide attack. Pakistan's GEO broadcaster reported that the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber.

According to Reuters, an explosion took place at a mosque in #Peshawar, #Pakistan; so far at least 19 were reported to have been killed by the blast, which resulted in dozens of casualties.#PeshawarBlast pic.twitter.com/Y3tvUDfiA3
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 30, 2023

Pakistan's rocky northwestern region has long been a hotbed of insurgent activity, with successive administrations struggling to establish a writ.

Last March, a suicide bomber detonated in a mosque in Peshawar Pakistan, killing at least 35 and injuring 50 people.

In December, at least 4 people were killed and at least 15 others were injured in an explosion in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Balochistan Province.

Peshawar was also the location of a 2014 massacre by TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ), which stormed a school for army personnel's children and massacred around 150 people, the majority of whom were students.