IS claims suicide blast at Islamabad mosque

A suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad kills 31 during Friday prayers, marking Pakistan's deadliest attack in years.

A suicide blast claimed by the Islamic State group (IS) at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad killed at least 31 people on Friday (February 6, 2026), with 169 more wounded in the deadliest attack in Pakistan’s capital since the 2008 Marriott hotel bombing.

City officials said 31 people died in the explosion at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque in the Tarlai area on the city’s outskirts, with scores more being treated for injuries. The death toll was expected to rise further.

The blast occurred during Friday prayers, when mosques around the country are packed with worshippers. “The attacker was stopped at the gate and detonated himself,” a security source told AFP.

IS said one of its militants had targeted the congregation, detonating an explosive vest and “inflicting a large number of deaths and injuries”, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist communications.

Muhammad Kazim, a 52-year-old worshipper, said an “extremely powerful” explosion ripped through the building as prayers were just starting.

“During the first bow of the Namaz (prayer ritual), we heard gunfire,” he told AFP.