ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Thirty-one folks have been killed and 169 others wounded in a suicide bombing assault on a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad throughout Friday prayers.
Police and residents rushed the wounded to close by hospitals, and a number of the injured within the assault on the sprawling mosque of Khadija Al-Kubra have been reported to be in vital situation.
Rescuers and witnesses stated the scene of the blast was ghastly, with our bodies and wounded mendacity on the mosque’s carpeted ground.
An eyewitness stated he was praying within the mosque courtyard when he heard a sudden, loud explosion. He thought it was a terrorist assault. He entered the mosque to see lots of the wounded screaming for assist. He counted round 30 our bodies contained in the mosque.
No group instantly claimed accountability for the explosion, however suspicion is more likely to fall on militant organizations such because the Pakistani Taliban or the Islamic State group, which has beforehand carried out assaults in opposition to Shiite worshippers, a spiritual minority within the nation. Armed teams in Pakistan often goal each safety forces and civilians.
Pakistan’s Protection Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif wrote on X that early findings recommend the suicide bomber had been touring to and from Afghanistan. He stated mosque safety guards tried to cease the suspect, who opened hearth on them earlier than detonating explosives amongst worshippers.
Afghanistan’s Protection Ministry condemned the assault in Islamabad and stated the Pakistani minister had “irresponsibly” linked the incident to Afghanistan. Pakistan has typically accused Afghanistan — the place the Taliban returned to energy in August 2021 after the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops — of sheltering militants, together with members of the Pakistani Taliban, an allegation Kabul denies.
Afghanistan’s International Ministry additionally issued a press release condemning assaults on mosques and worshippers, calling them violations of the sanctity of spiritual rituals and harmless lives.
The bombing drew condemnation from the worldwide group, together with the USA and the European Union, whereas a number of embassies in Islamabad issued messages of sympathy. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed condolences to the victims’ households in separate statements and directed authorities to offer full medical help to the wounded.
Image courtesy: ANI
