At least 31 killed, 170 wounded in suicide attack on Islamabad mosque

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - ISLAMABAD — A suicide bomber killed at least 31 people and wounded almost 170 others during Friday prayers in a mosque in Islamabad, officials said.

It was the deadliest attack in the country since January 2023, when a blast at a mosque in the north-western city of Peshawar killed more than one hundred people.

"A total of 31 people have lost their lives. The number of wounded brought to hospitals has risen to 169," Islamabad's Deputy Commissioner, Irfan Memon, said in a statement.

Images from the site showed bloodied bodies lying on the carpeted mosque floor surrounded by shards of glass, debris and panicked worshippers.

Dozens more wounded were lying in the gardens of the Khadija Tul Kubra Imambargah, in a semi-urban area on the outskirts of Islamabad, as people called for help.

“We had just begun the prayer when we heard the sound of gunfire, followed by a powerful explosion,” a worshipper at the mosque, Syed Ameer Hussain Shah, 47, told CNN.

“I got injured as well. At that time, the mosque hall was full, with more than 400 worshippers inside.”.

Two police officials said the attacker was stopped at the gate of the mosque before detonating the bomb.

Internal investigations suggest that Pakistan’s Taliban, or Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was behind the attack, police sources told CNN. There has so far been no claim of responsibility.

Friday's attack followed a week of violence in the country's restive Balochistan province where the military has battled a decades-long insurgency.

That region was brought to a standstill after separatist militants stormed government buildings, hospitals and markets in a coordinated attack,killing 58 civilians and security officials. The military said it killed 216 militants in targeted offensives across the province.

Related Article

Canada and France to open Greenland consulates as tensions rise in Arctic

The military said earlier on Friday that another 24 militants linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan were killed in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Images in the aftermath of the attack showed bodies covered in blood lying on the floor of the mosque surrounded by shards of glass and debris, Reuters reported.

The US embassy in Islamabad condemned the attack. “Acts of terror and violence against civilians and places of worship are unacceptable,” it said on X. “The people of Pakistan deserve safety, dignity, and the ability to practice their faith without fear.”

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari said the targeting of innocent civilians was “a crime against humanity,” and the entire nation stood “shoulder to shoulder with the families affected,” the AP news agency reported.

"We are giving every possible help to the families of those killed and those injured. We are doing everything possible to extend all the facilities they need," parliamentary affairs minister Tariq Fazal said after visiting the wounded at Islamabad's Polyclinic hospital.

Islamabad was already on high alert on Friday for the visiting President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, with roads around the capital blocked by checkpoints and security forces posted across the city.

"Targeting places of worship and civilians is a heinous crime against humanity and a blatant violation of Islamic principles," Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on X. — Agencies