At least 31 people were killed and around 170 injured in a mosque explosion in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, police and government officials reported. The blast occurred during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque in the Shehzad area of Islamabad. The Vice Commissioner of Islamabad, Irfan Nawaz Memon, confirmed the casualty figures and stated that an emergency has been declared in all major hospitals in the area. The injured are being treated in hospitals across Islamabad and the adjacent city of Rawalpindi. The death toll is expected to rise, as many of the wounded are in critical condition. Following the explosion, security forces, police, and rescue teams cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. Witnesses reported that a suicide bomber detonated himself at the entrance to the mosque. Security remains high across the capital, and no individual or group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
