Thousands gather for funerals as death toll from Islamabad mosque bombing claimed by Islamic State rises to 31, with arrests made.
ISLAMABAD: Thousands gathered on Saturday for the funerals of victims of a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque that killed 31 people and wounded 169 others.
Friday’s attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, was the deadliest in Islamabad since the 2008 Marriott hotel bombing. The death toll was expected to rise further.
Tearful mourners gathered at locations across the capital to bury the dead. “What happened yesterday has left us extremely angry and deeply hurt,” said Bushra Rahmani, whose brother was among the wounded.
A senior police officer in Pakistan’s northwest said some of the bomber’s relatives had been arrested. The officer, who did not give his name, said the attacker was from Peshawar.
A security official told AFP that the attacker’s mother was taken into custody in an upmarket neighbourhood of Islamabad. His brother and others were also arrested in different parts of the country.
Officials did not specify the charges or how many people had been detained. The blast occurred during Friday prayers when mosques are packed with worshippers.
A security source told AFP the attacker blew himself up after being stopped at the mosque’s gate. A worshipper, Imran Mahmood, said there was a gunfight between the bomber and volunteer security personnel before he detonated the explosives.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast and vowed to bring those responsible to justice. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar branded it “a heinous crime against humanity”.
AFP journalists at a major hospital saw several people, including children, being carried in on stretchers. Medics helped unload victims with blood-soaked clothes as relatives wept and screamed.
Heavily armed security forces guarded the mosque, where pools of blood were visible. Videos shared on social media showed several bodies lying near the mosque’s front gate.
The attack comes as Pakistan’s security forces battle intensifying insurgencies in provinces bordering Afghanistan. Shiites, making up 10-15% of Pakistan’s Sunni-majority population, have often been targeted.
The last major attack in Islamabad was in November, when a suicide blast outside a court killed 12 people. In Balochistan last week, attacks claimed by separatist insurgents killed 58 people.
