A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the outer wall of a facility housing police offices next to a mosque in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 16 people and wounding 56 others in an attack that struck as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers.

The blast tore through the compound in Kohat, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, according to CBC News. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief Zulfikar Hameed confirmed it was a suicide attack, and hospital officials said the dead included five police officers along with their family members and civilians caught in the blast.

A Region Already on Edge

The bombing landed a day after a roadside bomb struck a security convoy in the nearby Hangu district, killing six soldiers, and as Pakistani troops carried out raids that officials say killed 10 militants believed to belong to the Pakistani Taliban. No group had claimed responsibility for Friday's mosque-area bombing as of early evening local time, though the surge in violence has been concentrated in the same corner of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for weeks.

"IT WAS A SUICIDE ATTACK."

Officials cautioned that the death toll could still climb as rescue crews continued combing through rubble and debris late Friday. The National reported that dozens of the wounded remain hospitalized, several in critical condition, at facilities across Kohat district.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, has endured a wave of militant attacks this year as Pakistani forces battle a resurgent Pakistani Taliban insurgency along the frontier. Friday's bombing is among the deadliest single attacks the province has seen in months, compounding pressure on Islamabad's security establishment just as it pushes an aggressive counterinsurgency campaign in the tribal districts.

Family members gathered outside hospitals in Kohat through the afternoon searching for word on relatives, while local officials appealed for blood donations to keep pace with the number of wounded. The Pakistani government has not yet announced whether it will designate a formal day of mourning.

What's next: Pakistani security officials say the investigation into who orchestrated the attack is ongoing, with forensic teams examining the wreckage of the vehicle used in the bombing. Washington and other Western capitals have not yet issued formal statements on the attack.