PTI
Islamabad
At least 31 people were killed and 169 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia mosque during Friday prayers in Pakistan’s capital, officials said, in one of the worst terror attacks targeting the
community in recent years.
The powerful explosion, which was heard from a far distance, took place at Khadijah al-Kubra mosque-cum-imambargah in the
Tarlai area of Islamabad, the police said in
a statement.
The suicide bomber was stopped at the gate of the imambargah, but he detonated himself, police and eyewitnesses said.
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon confirmed that at least 31 people have been killed and 169 others injured “some of
them critically”.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. However, police sources said that the attacker was a foreign national and had links with Fitna al Khwaraji, a term used for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In a statement, TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khurasani denied any involvement of his group in the attack, saying its objectives are clear and are confined to Pakistan’s security institutions and their facilitators.
A cousin of Islamabad Inspector General Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi was among those killed in the blast, while another relative of the police chief was injured, said Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police spokesperson Taqi Jawad.
Citing eyewitnesses, Geo News reported that the terrorist first opened fire and then detonated himself. Television footage showed multiple bodies lying on the floor surrounded by shards of glass and debris. Police and Rescue 1122 personnel were involved in rescue operations. Officials fear the death toll could increase, as some of the injured were in critical condition.
An emergency was declared in the hospitals of the capital to deal with the situation, as the injured were being shifted to hospitals.
Quoting the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) administration, the Express Tribune newspaper said that at least 18 bodies were brought to the hospital, while more than 78 injured were also received.
Four injured people were brought to Rawalpindi’s Benazir Bhutto Hospital, where one of them later died during treatment, authorities said.
The army troops and Rangers have cordoned off the area, and security operations are underway in and around the site of the blast.
