Peshawar, Aug 19 : A bomb blast outside a hospital in northwest Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan, located about 300 km from here, on Tuesday killed at least 20 people and injured 15 others, official sources said.

"We don''t know whether it was a suicide attack. I have initial reports of 20 dead," said Syed Mohsin Shah, said a senior government official.

According to reports, the scene outside the Dera Ismail Khan District Hospital saw 18 bodies on the ground immediately after the blast.

The bomb exploded when a group of people were protesting outside the hospital. The body of a state-run grocery store employee was brought to the hospital after he was shot dead by unknown gunmen earlier in the day. (ANI)