Suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque on Islamabad’s outskirts kills not less than 31

ISLAMABAD — A suicide bomber focused a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad throughout Friday prayers, killing 31 folks and wounding not less than 169 others, officers stated, a uncommon bombing in Pakistan’s capital as its Western-allied authorities struggles to rein in a surge in militant assaults throughout the nation.

Tv footage and social media photographs confirmed police and residents transporting the wounded to close by hospitals. Among the wounded within the assault on the sprawling mosque of Khadija Al-Kubra have been reported to be in vital situation.

Rescuers and witnesses described a harrowing scene, with our bodies and wounded mendacity on the mosque’s carpeted ground. Hussain Shah stated he was praying within the mosque courtyard when he heard a sudden, loud explosion.

“I immediately thought that some big attack had happened,” he stated. He then went into the mosque to utter chaos — most of the wounded have been screaming and crying out for assist. Shah stated he counted round 30 our bodies contained in the mosque, whereas the variety of the wounded seemed to be considerably greater.

Nobody instantly claimed duty for the explosion, however suspicion is prone to fall on militants such because the Pakistani Taliban or the Islamic State group, which has been blamed for earlier assaults on Shiite worshippers, a minority within the nation. Militant teams throughout Pakistan usually goal safety forces and civilians.

A surge in militant assaults

Pakistani safety officers and rescue employee collect on the web site of a bomb explosion at a Shiite mosque, in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Anjum Naveed/AP/AP

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Anjum Naveed/AP/AP

Although assaults should not so frequent in Islamabad, Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in current months, largely blamed on Baloch separatist teams and the Pakistani Taliban, often called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is a separate group, however allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban. A regional affiliate of the Islamic State group has additionally been energetic within the nation.

Within the preliminary aftermath of the explosion, a decrease variety of casualties was launched, however Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Memon gave the newest tolls.

Pakistan’s Protection Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif wrote on X that preliminary findings counsel the suicide bomber had been on the transfer to and from Afghanistan. Asif stated the mosque’s safety guards tried to intercept the suspect, who opened fireplace at them after which detonated his explosives among the many worshippers.

The situation of the guards was not instantly recognized. Pakistan usually accuses Afghanistan, the place the Taliban seized energy once more in August 2021 as American and NATO troops have been withdrawing after a 20-year conflict, of harboring militants and members of the Pakistani Taliban. Kabul denies the accusation.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs issued an announcement Friday saying that the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan condemns such attacks that violate the sanctity of sacred rituals and mosques and target worshippers and innocent people.”

The assault additionally drew condemnation from the worldwide group, together with the United Sates and European Union. Condolences and condemnation additionally poured in from numerous embassies in Islamabad.

Political and spiritual leaders condemn the assault

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif prolonged condolences to the households of the victims in sperate statements and requested that each one attainable medical help be offered for these wounded.

“Targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity,” Zardari stated. “The nation stands with the affected families in this difficult time.”

“Those who are responsible must be identified and punished,” Sharif stated. Pakistan’s Inside Minister Mohsin Naqvi additionally condemned the assault.

Friday’s assault occurred as Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who’s on an official two-day go to, was attending an occasion with Sharif. The occasion in Islamabad was a number of miles away from the location of the explosion.

A high Shiite chief, Raja Nasir, expressed deep sorrow over the assault at Khadija Al-Kubra.

“Such a terrorist act in the federal capital is not only a serious failure in protecting human lives but also raises significant questions about the performance of the authorities and law enforcement agencies,” he stated and requested for folks to provide blood because the hospitals in Islamabad have been in pressing want for blood provides for the wounded.

The final deadliest assault in Islamabad was in 2008, when a suicide bombing focused the Marriott Resort within the capital, killing 63 folks and wounding over 250 others. In November, a suicide bomber had struck exterior a courtroom in Islamabad, killing 12 folks.

The newest assault got here almost every week after the outlawed Baloch Liberation Military carried out a number of assaults in insurgency-hit southwestern Balochistan province, killing about 50 folks.

Safety forces responding to these assaults additionally killed greater than 200 “terrorists,” in line with the navy.