Pakistani military Wednesday blasted away at the cowardly ‘coup de main’ that killed three and injured near dozen at an Islamabad Imambargah.
“Recent spate of terrorist attacks is highly condemnable. Our heart goes out to aggrieved brothers and sisters. We stand with them at time of grief,” Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said in a twitter post.
Also read: Loud explosion/gunshots heard near Imambargah in garrison city
He further tweeted that it was clearly an attempt to create divisiveness amongst the nation, which only served the interest of detractors of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
“Such acts are attacks on our most cherished religious values of peace and harmony. Nation’s resolve to deal terrorism and extremism can’t be undermined,” the military spokesperson added.
At least three people were killed and two others injured in an attack on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad Wednesday, officials said, in a rare attack in the usually calm Pakistani capital.
A lone suicide bomber blew himself up after he was confronted by a mosque security guard as he tried to enter the complex during evening prayers, officials said.
“One of the injured expired in the operation theatre and the death toll is three now,” Dr Ayesha Ishani, spokesperson of the government-run Pakistan Institute of medical Sciences (PIMS) where the injured are being treated, told reporters.
“One of the injured is in critical condition in the operation theatre while the other is stable,” she said.
A spokesman of the Islamabad police confirmed that the security guard and one other person also died during the blast.
“The suicide bomber had opened fire before trying to enter the mosque which caused the causalities,” the spokesman of Islamabad police told AFP.
He said the people inside the mosque locked the door as the suicide bomber scuffled with the security guard.
The attack is the latest in a wave of deadly sectarian attacks. In January 61 people were killed in a suicide bombing carried out by a Taliban splinter group at a Shiite mosque, the deadliest sectarian incident to hit the country in nearly two years.
