Overview
- The blast struck during Friday prayers at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque in Islamabad’s Tarlai area.
- Authorities reported at least 31 dead and 169 injured, with hospitals receiving a surge of casualties and some victims transported in private vehicles.
- Eyewitnesses said a volunteer guard shot the bomber in the thigh as he advanced, an accomplice opened fire, and the attacker then detonated at the gate.
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bombing and vowed those responsible would be found and prosecuted.
- The assault targeted a Shia congregation in a country with rising insurgent violence and strained security relations with Afghanistan.