At least 31 people were killed and 169 injured this Friday in a suicide attack carried out at a mosque in southern Islamabad during collective prayers, authorities reported.
“The number of deaths from the explosion has increased to 31, while the number of injured people taken to hospitals has reached 169,” the district administration said in a statement published on the social network X.
Islamabad police spokesman Taqi Jawad told the EFE news agency that according to preliminary information it was a suicide attack, and added that an emergency has been declared in several hospitals in the city.
The explosion occurred in an imambargah (Shiite place of worship) located in the Tarlai area, at the time of Friday prayers, when a large number of worshipers were gathered inside.
The authorities have cordoned off the area of the attack and have deployed administrative personnel in different hospitals to supervise the care of the wounded, the administration reported in a separate statement.
The president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, expressed his condolences for the victims and stated that “attacking innocent civilians is a crime against humanity,” according to a statement published in X.
For his part, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep regret over the deaths and ordered a thorough investigation to immediately identify those responsible, his office reported.
The attack came after another suicide attack last November outside a district court complex in Islamabad, which killed 12 people and injured more than 30.
(With information from EFE)
