ISLAMABAD: A massive bombing ripped through a Shia mosque on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital during Friday (Feb 6) prayers, killing 31 people and wounding at least 169 others, according to officials. Police said they were investigating whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.
There were fears the death toll from the bombing at the sprawling Islamabad mosque of Khadija Al-Kubra could climb even higher as some of the wounded were reported to be in critical condition. Television footage and social media images showed police and residents transporting the injured to nearby hospitals.
Rescuers and wounded described a harrowing scene, with bodies and wounded lying on the carpeted floor of the mosque.
Hussain Shah said he was praying in the mosque courtyard when a sudden, loud explosion occurred. “I immediately thought that some big attack has happened,” he said.
He then went into the mosque to utter chaos — many of the wounded were screaming and crying out for help. Shah said he counted around 30 bodies inside the mosque, while the number of wounded appeared to be significantly higher.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion.
However, suspicion is likely to fall on militants such as the Pakistani Taliban or the Islamic State group, which has been blamed for previous attacks on Shia worshippers, a minority in the country.
Militants often target security forces and civilians across Pakistan.
Though attacks are not so frequent in Islamabad, Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent months.
They have been largely blamed on Baloch separatist groups and the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is a separate group, but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban.
A regional affiliate of the Islamic State group has also been active in the country.
Shortly after the explosion was first reported with a lower number of casualties, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Memon gave the latest, much higher casualty tolls.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/pakistan-mosque-bombing-blast-death-5912786
