The attack occurred at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque in the Tarlai area, on the outskirts of Islamabad, city officials reported on February 6.
"The attacker was stopped at the gate and detonated explosives", a security source disclosed.
 |
Relatives mourn victims killed in the Shiite mosque suicide bombing outside a hospital in Islamabad on 6/2. Photo: AFP |
Relatives mourn victims killed in the Shiite mosque suicide bombing outside a hospital in Islamabad on 6/2. Photo: AFP
A senior police official stated that the explosion took place after Friday prayers, a time when mosques across Pakistan are heavily crowded with worshippers. The casualty count is expected to increase.
Worshipper Muhammad Kazim, 52, recounted that a powerful blast shook the building just as prayers began. "We heard gunshots during the first prostration of the Namaz prayer", he said. "And as we were still bowing, the explosion occurred".
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pledged to bring those behind the incident to justice.
South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman suggested that the target of the attack indicates the perpetrators could be a local branch of the Islamic State (IS) or anti-Shiite militants.
This marks the deadliest attack in Pakistan's capital since September 2008, when 60 people died in a truck suicide bombing that partially destroyed the 5-star Marriott hotel.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar condemned the bombing as a "heinous crime against humanity" and a "blatant violation of Islamic principles". He posted on X, "Pakistan stands united against terrorism in all its forms".
The attack comes as Pakistani security forces are contending with a rise in insurgent incidents in the southern and northern provinces bordering Afghanistan.
 |
An injured victim from the mosque suicide bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 6/2. Photo: AFP |
An injured victim from the mosque suicide bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 6/2. Photo: AFP
Pakistan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim nation, but Shiites also constitute approximately 10-15% of the population.
The last major attack in Islamabad occurred in November last year, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a courthouse, killing 12 people and injuring dozens.
