Around 150 armed masked men late Saturday took control of Turangzai Sahib Mosque in Lakaro village in the lawless Mohmand tribal district bordering Afghanistan, some 60km northwest of Peshawar, and renamed it the Red Mosque, they said.

The move came after a suicide bombing which killed 14 people during protests Friday at Islamabad's Red Mosque. It was the 13th suicide blast to hit the country since the bloody army raid on the mosque on July 10.

A militant leader who identified himself as Khalid told local journalists that the group had renamed the mosque "Lal Masjid" (Red Mosque) and a female madrasa like Islamabad's Jamia Hafsa would be set up shortly.

Residents said militants had taken positions on the roof of the mosque and in the surrounding area.

A local administration official confirmed the occupation of the mosque, but gave no further details.

Following heavy fighting between troops and militants at Islamabad's Red Mosque earlier this month, the badly-damaged building was repaired and the adjoining girls' religious school called Jamia Hafsa demolished.

The formerly red building was repainted pale yellow and bullet holes and scorch marks from explosions were patched up before it was formally reopened for Friday's traditional prayers, but was closed again after violence erupted.

The government originally cracked down on the mosque after it led a Taliban-style vigilante campaign for Sharia law that climaxed with the abduction in Islamabad of seven Chinese nationals.

Pro-Taliban militants still hold sway in the rugged Pakistani tribal districts bordering Afghanistan despite the deployment of more than 90,000 troops.