An attacker opened fire at the gates of a Shiite Muslim mosque in Islamabad on Friday before detonating a suicide bomb that killed at least 31 people in the deadliest assault of its kind in the capital in more than a decade.
An emergency was declared as hospitals began receiving the wounded, with authorities issuing urgent appeals for blood donations. Pakistan’s interior ministry said the attacker opened fire before detonating the device after being challenged by security guards at the mosque entrance.
Officials said more than 170 people were wounded after guards confronted the bomber as he tried to enter the Khadija Tul Kubra Imambargah compound on the city’s outskirts.
Images showed bodies on the carpeted floor, shattered glass across the hall and worshippers scrambling for help.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep grief” over the attack and called for a thorough investigation and the swift identification of those responsible. President Asif Ali Zardari described the targeting of civilians as a “crime against humanity”.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif suggested India and Afghanistan were behind the attack, claiming the attacker had travelled to and from Afghanistan.
India’s foreign ministry rejected the allegations as “baseless”, condemned the attack and expressed condolences for the loss of life, according to an official statement.
Pakistan’s minister of state for interior Talal Chaudhry later said the suspect was not an Afghan citizen, according to local media.
The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility in a statement released through its media channels, identifying the alleged attacker as “Sayf Allah al-Ansari”. The claim could not be independently verified.
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack in the “strongest terms”, calling for those responsible to be brought to justice.
According to conflict monitor ACLED, the blast was the deadliest suicide attack in Islamabad in more than a decade and bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State.
Shiites, a minority in Pakistan, have repeatedly been targeted by Islamic State and the Sunni Islamist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. While bombings in the capital remain rare, officials have warned of rising militant activity along the Afghan border.
Afghanistan’s foreign ministry condemned the attack and reiterated that Kabul does not provide safe haven to militants.
Islamabad deputy commissioner Irfan Memon said the death toll stood at 31, with 169 wounded.
Islamabad was already under heightened security for the visit of Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, with checkpoints in place across the city.
Parliamentary affairs minister Tariq Fazal said authorities were providing “every possible help” to families, after visiting the injured at Polyclinic Hospital.
Earlier this week, coordinated attacks in Balochistan killed 58 civilians, with the Balochistan Liberation Army claiming responsibility. Pakistan’s military said it killed more than 200 militants in subsequent operations.
The military later said 216 militants were killed in retaliatory operations, while 24 militants linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan were killed earlier on Friday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The previous major attack in Islamabad occurred on 11 November, when a suicide bomber killed 12 people and wounded 27 others. Authorities said the attacker was an Afghan national, though no group claimed responsibility.
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace d...
Memorial events were held in Tehran’s main squares on Wednesday (8 April) to mark the 40th day since the ...
Three Russian submarines were detected near British waters, the UK Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, announced on Thursday (9 April). Speaking at ...
Millions of Indians queued to vote in local elections across two states on Thursday, kicking off four key contests this month....
More than a million Sudanese refugees now face drastic cuts to life-saving aid, including food and water, after major funding shortfalls have left ...
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal with the U.S. after Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people. The warning came from Iran's lead negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bager Qalibaf.
Memorial events were held in Tehran’s main squares on Wednesday (8 April) to mark the 40th day since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died during U.S.-Israeli attacks on 28 February.
More than a million Sudanese refugees now face drastic cuts to life-saving aid, including food and water, after major funding shortfalls have left humanitarian agencies struggling to cope.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday (9 April) that restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is a vital interest for both Italy and the European Union, pledging coordination with international partners to ensure safe passage.
China and Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Tuesday aimed at coordinating defensive efforts to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, leaving no agreed international framework for securing the vital route.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it had stopped firing on northern Israel and Israeli forces on Wednesday as part of a two-week ceasefire in the Middle East brokered between the United States and Iran. However, a Hezbollah lawmaker warned that the pause could collapse if Tel Aviv does not adhere to it.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Iran and the United States, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate two-week ceasefire covering all areas, but Israel says the deal excludes Lebanon. Tel Aviv says the U.S. is committed to achieving shared goals in upcoming negotiations.
Iran suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal with the U.S. after Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds of people. The warning came from Iran's lead negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bager Qalibaf.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, less than two hours before his deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face U.S. attacks on its civilian infrastructure.
Three Russian submarines were detected near British waters, the UK Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, announced on Thursday (9 April). Speaking at a press briefing in Downing Street, he said an attack submarine and two specialist vessels were being monitored by the Ministry of Defence.
More than a million Sudanese refugees now face drastic cuts to life-saving aid, including food and water, after major funding shortfalls have left humanitarian agencies struggling to cope.
Russia will see revenue from its biggest single oil tax double to $9 billion in April, driven by the oil and gas crisis triggered by the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, Reuters calculations showed on Thursday.
At least four people died after a small dinghy carrying migrants to Britain sank in the English Channel, French authorities announced on Thursday.
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday declined to block the Pentagon’s national security blacklisting of Anthropic for now, handing a win to the Trump administration after a separate appeals court reached the opposite conclusion.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment