Today's Edition
ISLAMABAD (AP)
Pakistani security forces raided multiple locations and arrested four suspects, including the alleged mastermind, behind a suicide bombing at a mosque on the outskirts of the capital that killed 31 people, the interior minister said on Saturday.
The announcement by Mohsin Naqvi came a day after a regional affiliate of the Daesh group claimed responsibility in a statement.
The statement said the attacker on Friday opened fire on security guards who tried to stop him at the main gate before detonating his explosive vest after reaching the mosque’s inner gate.
Friday’s mosque bombing that also wounded 169 people was the deadliest in Islamabad since a 2008 suicide bombing at the Marriott Hotel that killed 63 people and wounded more than 250.
Naqvi described the suspected mastermind of the bombing as an Afghan linked to Daesh. He alleged the attack was planned.
Naqvi urged the international community to take notice, warning that instability could spread beyond the region. Addressing public concerns about security lapses, he said, "If one blast happens, 99 others are being foiled as well.”
Funerals for the victims
Earlier, more than 2,000 grief-stricken mourners gathered as coffins of those killed were brought to the same mosque for funerals of about a dozen victims, joined by community leaders and senior government officials.
Funerals of other victims were to be held in their hometowns.
Attack draws international condemnation
The attack drew condemnation from the wider international community, including the United States, Russia and the European Union.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was grateful for the messages of sympathy and support received "from across the globe” following what he called the "heart-wrenching suicide attack in Islamabad.”
He said international support remained critical to Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts and vowed the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
