"ISLAMABAD A suicide bomber targeted a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad during Friday prayers, killing 31 people and wounding at least 169 others, officials said, a rare bombing in Pakistan's capital as its Western-allied government struggles to rein in a surge in militant attacks across the country. Television footage and social media images showed police and residents transporting the wounded to nearby hospitals."
"Rescuers and witnesses described a harrowing scene, with bodies and wounded lying on the mosque's carpeted floor. Hussain Shah said he was praying in the mosque courtyard when he heard a sudden, loud explosion. "I immediately thought that some big attack had happened," he said. He then went into the mosque to utter chaos many of the wounded were screaming and crying out for help."
"No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but suspicion is likely to fall on militants such as the Pakistani Taliban or the Islamic State group, which has been blamed for previous attacks on Shiite worshippers, a minority in the country. Militant groups across Pakistan often target security forces and civilians. A surge in militant attacks Though attacks are not so frequent in Islamabad, Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent months,"
A suicide bomber struck the Khadija Al-Kubra Shiite mosque on Islamabad's outskirts during Friday prayers, causing 31 deaths and at least 169 injuries. Police and residents transported the wounded to nearby hospitals, and some injured were reported in critical condition. Rescuers and witnesses described bodies and wounded lying on the mosque's carpeted floor amid chaos. Worshipper Hussain Shah recounted hearing a sudden loud explosion and finding many wounded screaming for help, and he estimated about 30 bodies inside the mosque. No group immediately claimed the attack, and suspicion centers on militant groups amid a recent surge in violence across Pakistan.
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