A suicide bombing during Friday prayers at a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, has killed at least 31 people and injured 169 others, according to local authorities.
The attack occurred at the Khadija Tul Kubra Imambargah on the outskirts of the city while the mosque was filled with worshippers. Security officials said the blast happened shortly after prayers had begun, causing widespread casualties.
A worshipper who survived the attack told reporters that gunfire was heard moments before a powerful explosion ripped through the prayer hall, which was hosting more than 400 people at the time.
The incident marks the deadliest militant attack in Pakistan since January 2023, when a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar killed over 100 people. While militant violence has surged in parts of the country in recent years, large-scale attacks remain relatively rare in Islamabad due to heavy security presence.
Preliminary investigations suggest the involvement of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, police sources said. The group, a Sunni Islamist militant organization, has a history of targeting Pakistan’s Shiite minority, whom it considers heretical. No group has formally claimed responsibility for the bombing.
The United States Embassy in Islamabad condemned the attack, describing violence against civilians and places of worship as unacceptable and reaffirming support for the Pakistani people.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari also denounced the bombing, calling the targeting of innocent worshippers a crime against humanity and expressing solidarity with the victims’ families.
Authorities have launched a full security review in the capital as investigations into the attack continue.
