Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: More than 30 people were killed and dozens wounded in a powerful blast, caused by a suicide bomber, at a Shia Muslims’ mosque in Islamabad during Friday prayers, the media reported.
In a statement, Islamabad administration said at least169 people were transferred to hospital after rescue teams reached the site of the explosion.
No terror group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.
According to early reports, the attack at the mosque killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens more, in one of the worst such incidents to hit Pakistan’s capital.
The powerful explosion occurred at Khadija Tul Kubra mosque, in southeastern Islamabad’s Tarlai Kalan area, during Friday prayers.
A senior police official said the explosion appeared to be a suicide attack but the conclusive cause is yet to be determined. The attacker detonated himself after being stopped at the gate of the mosque.
Footage shared on social media showed bloodied bodies lying on the floor of the mosque, surrounded by broken glass and debris.
At the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital, several adults and children were carried in on stretchers or by their arms and legs.
Police claimed the attacker was a foreign national and had links with Fitna al- Khwaraji, a term used for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Rescue teams and police rushed to the site of the attack and began rescue operations.
An emergency was declared in the hospitals of the capital to deal with the situation, as the injured were being shifted to hospitals.
The attack came less than three months after a suicide bomber killed 12 people in a blast outside a district and sessions court building in Islamabad.
Friday’s attack came when Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was visiting Pakistan. He arrived on a two-day state visit on Thursday.
President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas condemned the attack.
“Targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity,” Zardari said.
In November 2025, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the Islamabad District Judicial Complex, killing at least 12 people and wounding dozens.
In September 2008, a suicide bomber detonated a dump truck at Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel, killing at least 63 people and wounding more than 250.