ISIS claims responsibility for suicide blast at Pakistan mosque; 31 killed

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 bombing of the Marriott Hotel. According to local reports, the explosion struck the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque in the Tarlai area of Islamabad during Friday prayers, when the mosque was filled with worshippers.

ISIS said one of its militants carried out the attack by detonating an explosive vest inside the mosque, “inflicting a large number of deaths and injuries,” according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications. The extremist group has repeatedly targeted Pakistan’s Shia minority in past attacks.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said security guards challenged the attacker as he approached the mosque, prompting him to open fire before detonating his explosives. “He then blew himself up while standing in the last row of worshippers,” Asif said, blaming the Afghan Taliban for the attack and warning that Pakistan would respond with “full force.”

Eyewitness Muhammad Kazim, 52, said the explosion was “extremely powerful” and occurred just as prayers were beginning. “During the first bow of the namaz, we heard gunfire,” he told AFP.

Funerals held for victims

Thousands of mourners gathered across Islamabad on Saturday for the funerals of those killed in the bombing, with emotional scenes reported at burial sites across the city.

Officials said several of the attacker’s relatives had been arrested. A security official told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the bomber’s mother was taken into custody from an upmarket neighbourhood of Islamabad, while his brother and others were detained in different parts of the country.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and vowed to bring those responsible to justice. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar described the bombing as a “heinous crime against humanity” and a “blatant violation of Islamic principles.”

The attack comes nearly three months after a suicide blast outside a district and sessions court complex in Islamabad killed 12 people and injured 30 others in November 2025.