Latest update March 12th, 2026 12:35 PM
Suicide bomber kills 31 in Shi’ite mosque in Pakistan’s capital
(Reuters) – An attacker opened fire at the gates of a Shi’ite Muslim mosque in Islamabad on Friday before setting off a suicide bomb and killing at least 31 people in the deadliest attack of its kind in Pakistan’s capital in more than a decade.
More than 170 others were wounded in the explosion, detonated after guards challenged the attacker as he made his way into the Khadija Tul Kubra Imambargah compound on the outskirts of the city, officials said.
A man reacts while being comforted after a deadly explosion at a Shi’ite Muslim mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Waseem Khan
Images from the site showed bloodied bodies lying on the carpeted mosque floor surrounded by shards of glass, debris and panicked worshippers. Dozens more wounded were lying in the gardens of the compound as people called for help.
Survivors said they heard gunshots and seconds later the blast, soon after the prayers began.
The man blew “himself up in the last row of worshippers,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif wrote on X.
He said the bomber had a history of travelling to Afghanistan and blamed neighbouring India for sponsoring the assault, without providing evidence.
India’s foreign office condemned the attack and dismissed Pakistan’s statement as “baseless”.
“It is unfortunate that, instead of seriously addressing the problems plaguing its social fabric, Pakistan should choose to delude itself by blaming others for its home-grown ills,” it said in a statement.
‘BLOOD EVERYWHERE’
At Islamabad’s largest public hospital, family members in waited outside and in crowded corridors for news.
Sarfraz Shah, 46, said he had gone to the mosque with his younger brother Manzar, 39, as he did every Friday.
“I heard the gunshots and I was just trying to make sense of what had happened when there was a massive explosion,” Shah said at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital.
“It threw people here and there. There was smoke. No one knew what had happened. Then there was blood everywhere.”
He added through tears that there was no sign of his brother anywhere but when he came to the hospital, he discovered that Manzar was among those killed.
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