At least 31 people were killed and 169 others injured on Friday when a suicide bomber struck a Shia mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad during Friday prayers, Pakistani officials said, in one of the capital’s deadliest attacks in over a decade.
The blast happened in the Khadija al-Kubra Imambargah mosque in the outskirts of Islamabad, with police saying the attacker had been stopped at the mosque gate before opening fire and setting off explosives among worshipers, according to officials cited by Reuters.
Footage and images from the site showed bodies and debris scattered across the mosque’s carpeted prayer hall, with the wounded lying in the compound gardens, as bystanders called for help and rushed victims to hospitals.
Islamabad deputy commissioner Irfan Memon said the death toll stood at 31, adding that 169 injured people had been brought in for treatment, some in critical condition.
No group claimed responsibility yet; however, conflict monitor ACLED said the attack "bears the hallmarks of the Islamic State," while officials noted that Shia communities, a minority in Pakistan, have repeatedly been targeted in sectarian violence by extremist groups, including the Islamic State and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the bombing as "a crime against humanity," ordering full medical assistance to be provided for the wounded.
Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said a thorough investigation is underway and that "those who are responsible must be identified and punished."
The attack unfolded as Islamabad was already under heightened security for a visiting foreign leader, with checkpoints and armed patrols deployed across the capital.
While bombings are rare in the capital city, officials say militant violence has surged across the country in recent months.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif accused India of sponsoring the attack without presenting evidence, a claim New Delhi did not immediately respond to and has repeatedly denied in the past.
The deadly mosque attack comes after Pakistani security forces launched large-scale operations in Balochistan – a vast, sparsely populated region in southwestern Pakistan – following a wave of coordinated gun and bomb attacks over the weekend that killed about 50 people.
Islamabad announced the killing of at least 145 separatist militants from the Balochistan Liberation Army, according to provincial officials. Authorities said the assaults targeted multiple districts, including Quetta and Gwadar, and included suicide bombings and gunfire at security installations.
Pakistan’s provincial leadership accused Afghanistan and India of backing the militants – claims that New Delhi has denied – as Islamabad imposed sweeping security restrictions across the province amid a broader surge in militant violence.
Loading recommendations...