ISLAMABAD: A police officer was killed, while four suspects were arrested in a series of overnight raids conducted by police following a deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad, officials said on Saturday, with Daesh (Islamic States) claiming responsibility for the attack.
Officials said 31 people died in the blast at the Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque in the Tarlai Kallan area on Islamabad’s outskirts on Friday, with scores more being treated for injuries.
The blast occurred at Friday prayers, when mosques around the country are packed with worshippers, with Daesh saying one of its militants had targeted the congregation by detonating an explosive vest.
Late Friday, Pakistani intelligence and law enforcement agencies conducted a raid in the northwestern district of Nowshera, which led to a shootout with suspects linked to Friday’s bombing, leaving one officer dead.
“Assistant Sub-Inspector Ejaz Khattak was martyred, while ASI Aman Sher and Constable Hazrat Ali were injured when police carried out a raid on militants linked to the Islamabad blast,” Nowshera police spokesperson Turk Ali Shah told Arab News, adding more details regarding the arrests would be released by federal authorities.
