A suicide attack at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, killed at least 31 people and injured 169 this Friday, February 6, according to police sources. No movement has claimed responsibility for the attack, in a country where the group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic State often attack the minority of Shiite believers, whom they consider heretics.
First modification: 02/06/2026 - 14:37 Last modification: 02/06/2026 - 14:40
The roar disrupted Friday prayers at a Shiite temple on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, where at least 31 people were killed and 169 others were injured, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Memon said.
The attacker was detained at the door of the mosque before detonating the bomb, two police officers told the Reuters news agency, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the press. Islamabad Police spokesman Taqi Jawad later confirmed to EFE that it was a suicide attack.
The number of fatalities has increased considerably between the first report and the last. Images of the tragedy reveal bodies lying on the carpeted floor of the mosque, among a pile of glass and debris.
“Attacking innocent civilians is a crime against humanity”
Dozens more wounded lay in the gardens of Khadija Tul Kubra Imambargah, in a semi-urban area on the outskirts of Islamabad, while police and residents took some of them to nearby hospitals. Rescue teams and witnesses detailed that some of the injured were in critical condition.
A crowd of curious onlookers gathered at the site of the explosion, while members of the security forces took control of the site, some of them taking a position on the roof of the mosque with long-range weapons.
The authorities have cordoned off the area and have deployed administrative personnel in different hospitals to supervise care for the injured.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in separate statements, while extending their condolences to the families of the victims.
“Attacking innocent civilians is a crime against humanity,” Zardari declared, before adding that “the nation stands with the affected families in these difficult times.” The prime minister, who ordered a thorough investigation, pleaded that "those responsible must be identified and punished."
The attack occurred in the middle of the visit to Islamabad of the president of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Although no group claimed responsibility for the attack in the moments after the detonation, suspicions fall on militants of the Pakistani Taliban group - known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - or the group calling itself the Islamic State, to whom previous attacks against Shiite faithful, a minority in this predominantly Sunni Muslim nation of 241 million inhabitants, have been attributed.
Read alsoMore than a hundred dead in Pakistan's counteroffensive against Baloch insurgents
A terrified state
Friday's suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Pakistan comes a week after the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army carried out multiple attacks in the insurgency-hit southwestern province of Balochistan, killing about 50 people.
The Army responded with a counteroffensive in which more than 200 “terrorists” died, in the words of military authorities.
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Another suicide attack in November 2025 outside a court in Islamabad killed a dozen residents and injured 27 more, the Interior Ministry said. The incident was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban group and the Islamabad authorities detailed that it had been perpetrated by an Afghan citizen.
A couple of weeks later, two suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of the Pakistani security forces. At least three officers died and another 11 were injured, police and rescue agencies reported. The attack took place in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan.
Since the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has maintained an intermittent conflict with its northern neighbor, which materializes in sudden border combats that have left multiple civilian deaths.
The worst confrontation between both armies occurred in October 2025 and left around 70 dead on both sides. The fighting ended with a tenuous ceasefire signed in Doha in October, mediated by Qatar and Türkiye.
The main obstacle in the ceasefire negotiation lies in Pakistan's demand from Kabul regarding the persecution of the fighters of the hostile military group of the TTP. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of harboring militants, who for years have waged a bloody campaign against Pakistan.
Read alsoDozens killed in a Baloch separatist attack in southwestern Pakistan
With Reuters and AP
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