Arya News - A suicide bombing in a Pakistan mosque has killed 31 people and injured 169 during Friday prayers.
Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A bombing in a Pakistan mosque has killed 31 people and injured 169 during Friday prayers.
Police said a suicide bomber exploded the bomb at the Shia imambargah Khadijah-tul-Kubra in the Tarlai section of Islamabad. An imambargah is a congregation hall sometimes used for prayers.
Witnesses said they heard sounds of gunfire before the bomb detonated. An emergency was declared, and an appeal for blood donations was sent out, the BBC reported .
Maryam Nawaz, chief minister of neighboring Punjab, said the provincial government had sent 25 ambulances to Islamabad, Dawn reported.
"Blood banks are fully staffed, and operation theaters are fully equipped to ensure prompt and effective medical care for the injured."
People move injured victims of a blast at a Shiite Muslim mosque to hospitals in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday. More than 150 people were injured in the explosion. Photo by Sohail Shahzad/EPA
She added that there are "surgical teams, anesthetists, orthopedic and neurosurgical specialists on standby."
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif blamed India and Afghanistan on social media , saying, "it has been proved the terrorist involved in the attack traveled to and from Afghanistan. The collusion between India and Afghanistan is being revealed."
He said security guards "challenged" the attacker, and he began shooting.
"He then blew himself up, standing in the last row of worshippers."
Tallal Chaudhry, minister of State for Interior, told reporters in Islamabad that the attacker was not Afghani but that through forensic tests, they had determined he had traveled to Afghanistan multiple times, Dawn News reported .
President Asif Ali Zardari expressed condolences to the victims, according to a statement.
"Targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity," Zardari said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also condemned the "cowardly" attack.
"Targeting places of worship and civilians is a heinous crime against humanity and a blatant violation of Islamic principles," he said.
"Pakistan stands united against terrorism in all its forms," Dar said. "This barbarity will not intimidate us, and extremists will be brought to full account."
Zaheer Abbas told BBC Urdu that he was inside the Khadijatul Kubra imambargah praying when he heard gunshots.
"After that, we bowed and then prostrated, and then there was an explosion," he said. "After which there were injured people lying everywhere."
Syed Ashfaq, caretaker of the mosque who lives next door, also heard gunfire and ran toward the mosque to help.
"By the time I reached it there had already been an explosion," he told the BBC. "Bodies were lying everywhere, some were missing arms, some missing legs. We took the most injured in our own vehicle [to a hospital]."
Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is visiting Pakistan, Dawn reported.
Islamabad saw another suicide attack on Nov. 11 that killed 12 people and injured 36.