Suicide blast at Islamabad shrine kills 31, over 170 injured
What's the story
A suicide bomber reportedly detonated himself outside an Imam Bargah in the Shehzad Town area of Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday, killing at least 31 people and injuring 170 more. The blast took place at the Khadija Tul Kubra mosque. According to preliminary reports, the suicide bomber detonated explosives at the main gate of the Shia place of worship during the afternoon hours.
Attack
Attacker was stopped by guards
The Times of Islamabad, citing sources, reported that the attacker was stopped by guards at the entrance, preventing him from entering the main hall where worshippers were assembled for Friday prayers. "The attacker was stopped at the gate and detonated himself," a source told AFP. Despite this, video footage of the bomb site showed that the explosion did considerable damage to the gate construction and damaged windows of nearby buildings, with debris dispersed over the road.
Twitter Post
Aftermath visuals
Tragic reports from Tarlai, Islamabad
— Pakistan Reality Check (@PakRealityCheck) February 6, 2026
A suicide bomber detonated at the gate of an Imambargah, with multiple casualties and many injured.
Targeting Shia worshippers is not politics, it’s sectarian terrorism.
Pakistan’s biggest internal crisis isn’t image or diplomacy; it’s the… pic.twitter.com/TmZfVjIL4H
Medical response
Hospitals on high alert
In the wake of the blast, hospitals in Islamabad have been put on high alert. The Polyclinic, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), and CDA Hospital have all declared emergencies. A spokesperson for PIMS told Dawn that a full emergency had been declared with activation of the main emergency ward along with the orthopedic, burn, and neurology departments.
Rescue efforts
Ambulances ferrying injured to hospitals
Ambulances were seen ferrying the injured to PIMS and Polyclinic as rescue operations continue. However, the exact number of casualties is yet to be confirmed. The blast comes less than three months after a suicide attack outside a district and sessions court in Islamabad's G-11 sector on November 11, 2025. That attack had killed 12 people and injured over 30 others.
PM
PM condemns attack
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, expressing "deep grief" for the explosion. Shiites, who make up a small part of the 241 million people of Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, have been targeted in sectarian violence in the past. Among them is the Sunni Islamist militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which deems them heretics.