At least 32 people have been killed and many injured in a coordinated attack at a mosque in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, military officials say.
Reports suggest there were at least two suicide attacks during Friday prayers followed by a series of explosions.
Ambulances have rushed to the scene in the busy Qasim Market area of the city.
The Pakistani security forces have been targeted in a series of recent attacks. Nineteen people were killed in an army base attack in Rawalpindi in October.
Military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said the latest attack had been coordinated.
“There was certainly more than one attacker, so there is a possibility that some of them may still be hiding in the vicinity,” he told reporters.
Most of the dead are reported to have been serving or retired military officials.
The BBC’s Orla Guerin, in Rawalpindi, says helicopters are hovering over the city, suggesting the security forces are still looking for attackers that may be on the run.
The area around the mosque has been heavily cordoned off by police.
Friday prayers
Interior Minister Rehman Malik says two suicide bombers blew themselves up one after the other inside the mosque, causing the roof of the building to collapse.
Rawalpindi was attacked by militants in November
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“They are taking revenge for the Pakistan army’s successful operations in the Swat and Waziristan region,” Mr Malik told the ARY television channel
One witness, iNasir Ali Sheikh, told the BBC he saw three attackers, one of whom had thrown hand grenades into the mosque.
He said two grenades landed in the men’s section of the mosque and one in the women’s.
Other attackers were firing randomly in the mosque, said Nasir Ali Sheikh, adding that visitors had had to go through tight security, including metal detectors, to get inside the building.
The incident appears to have taken place near or inside the Parade Lane mosque where people were preparing for the Friday congregation.
The mosque is a short distance from the army headquarters, in an area housing several offices of the defence establishment and the intelligence agencies.
There has been a pattern of militant groups trying to attack security targets inside Pakistan recently, as the army pursues an offensive against militants in South Waziristan.
Once again, the militants have shown they can launch attacks on the military even in protected locations, says our correspondent.
While there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest incident, the Pakistani Taliban have carried out many recent attacks.
