Islamabad mosque blast: Pakistani security forces conduct raids, detain 4 individuals

Pakistani counter-terrorism units conducted several raids and detained four individuals, among them the purported coordinator, linked to a suicide strike at a Shiite mosque on the capital's fringes that claimed 31 lives, interior minister Mohsin Naqvi announced on Saturday.

The declaration by Naqvi followed a day after a regional branch of the Islamic State, calling itself Islamic State in Pakistan, asserted its involvement via a bulletin on its Amaq News Agency. The report stated that on Friday, the assailant launched an armed assault on security personnel at the primary entrance before triggering his suicide vest upon arriving at the sanctuary’s interior portal.

The IS organization indicated it considers Pakistani Shiites as valid targets, describing the community as a "human reservoir" that supplies fighters to Shiite paramilitary groups opposing IS forces in Syria.

Friday’s explosion, which also left 169 people injured, stands as the most lethal incident in Islamabad since the 2008 suicide attack at the Marriott Hotel that resulted in 63 fatalities and over 250 injuries. Previously in November, a suicide operative struck near a capital courthouse, killing 12 individuals.

Addressing public concerns about security lapses, Naqvi said: “If one blast happens, 99 others are being foiled as well.”

Earlier, over 2,000 devastated mourners assembled as the caskets of the deceased were transported to the same mosque for the memorial services of roughly twelve victims, attended by Shiite dignitaries and high-ranking state officials. The burial rites for other casualties were scheduled to take place in their respective ancestral cities.

IS is a Sunni extremist faction that has historically targeted Pakistan's Shiite minority, seemingly aiming to ignite sectarian conflict within the predominantly Sunni nation. In 2022, the group claimed credit for a suicide blast at a Shiite house of worship in the northwestern city of Peshawar, which killed no fewer than 56 people and wounded 194 others.

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif informed journalists on Friday that the tragedy suggested that local militants operating from Afghan territory are capable of striking the heart of the capital. These comments prompted a stern rebuttal from Afghanistan’s Taliban administration.

In a formal response, the Afghan Defense Ministry denounced the Islamabad mosque bombing but asserted that the Pakistani defense minister had "irresponsibly" associated the event with Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly charged Afghanistan, where the Taliban resumed control in August 2021, with providing sanctuary to insurgents, including the Pakistani Taliban.

Kabul continues to reject these claims.