Bomb blast kills six in Pakistan's northwest

A bomb blast at an Islamic preaching centre in troubled northwest Pakistan on Thursday killed at least six people and wounded more than 50, officials said.

The blast occurred in a centre run by the hardline Tablighi Jamaat group just metres from the military quarter of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which borders Afghanistan and has been hit by numerous bombings in recent years.

"At least six people were killed in an explosion at a centre of preachers," local police official Ijaz Khan told AFP.

"The blast occurred in a preaching centre on Charsadda road near the military cantonment when around 800 people were offering evening prayers," he said.

Provincial health minister Shoukat Yousufzai told AFP at least six bodies and 60 wounded had been taken to the city's Lady Reading Hospital.

Bomb disposal squad chief Shafqat Malik confirmed the blast.

"Around five kilograms of explosive material was used in the blast, which was detonated with a timer device," he told AFP.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Al-Qaeda-linked militants have led a bloody campaign against the Pakistani state in recent years.

But TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid denied having any role in the blast.

"We don't kill innocent civilians and we have nothing to do with the blast," Shahid told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.