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ISIS said one of its militants had targeted a congregation during Friday prayers at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad by detonating an explosive vest, which killed 31 people.
Mourners attend the funeral of victims of a suicide bombing at a mosque in Islamabad. (AFP)
The Islamic State (ISIS) group has claimed responsibility for a suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 31 people and injured 169 others on Friday in the deadliest attack in Pakistan’s capital since the 2008 Marriott hotel bombing.
According to the local reports, an explosion rocked the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra, a Shiite mosque in the Tarlai area of the federal capital. The blast occurred during Friday prayers, when mosques are packed with worshippers.
ISIS said one of its militants had targeted the congregation, detonating an explosive vest and “inflicting a large number of deaths and injuries”, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications. The group had long targeted Shia minorities in Pakistan with targeted attacks.
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Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the security guards had “challenged” the attacker, who opened fire in response. “He then blew himself up, standing in the last row of worshippers,” Asif said, blaming Afghan Taliban for the attack and warning that Pakistan will respond with “full force”.
Muhammad Kazim, a 52-year-old worshipper, said an “extremely powerful” explosion ripped through the building as prayers were just starting. “During the first bow of the Namaz (prayer ritual), we heard gunfire,” he told AFP.
Funerals Held For Victims
Thousands of people gathered in Islamabad on Saturday for the funerals of the victims of the suicide bombing. Tearful mourners gathered at locations across Islamabad to bury the dead.
Officials said some of the bomber’s relatives had been arrested. A security official told AFP on the condition of anonymity that the attacker’s mother was taken into custody in an upmarket neighbourhood of Islamabad, and that his brother and others were also arrested in different parts of the country.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast and vowed to track down those responsible and bring them to justice, while Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar described it as a “heinous crime against humanity and a blatant violation of Islamic principles.”
This incident took place nearly three months after a suicide blast outside a district and sessions court building in Islamabad killed 12 people and injured 30 people in November 2025.
(with AFP inputs)
Islamabad, Pakistan
February 07, 2026, 17:54 IST
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