15 killed, dozens injured in blast during Friday prayer in Islamabad

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 15 people were killed and dozens of others injured in an explosion in the Tralai area of Islamabad during Friday prayers.

According to The Express Tribune, the blast occurred at the Khadijat-ul-Kubra Mosque in Tralai, a suburb of Pakistan’s capital, while worshippers were offering Friday prayers.

The newspaper reported that the attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body after being stopped at the entrance of the mosque.

Sources said an emergency was declared at hospitals across Islamabad following the incident, and the transfer of injured victims is still ongoing.

Officials at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said 11 bodies and 60 injured individuals have so far been brought to the hospital, adding that its capacity to admit further patients has been fully exhausted.

Due to the pressure on hospitals in the capital, several injured people were shifted to medical facilities in other parts of Islamabad and to nearby Rawalpindi, the report said.

The Express Tribune added that the death toll has reached at least 15, while around 80 people have sustained injuries.

Meanwhile, Pakistani police and army personnel have cordoned off the area, and security operations are continuing around the blast site.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

sa