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Pakistan arrests facilitators after deadly Islamabad mosque bombing

By Zahid Shah

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani security forces have arrested several facilitators linked to Friday’s deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad during overnight raids in the Nowshera and Peshawar areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said.

Police, intelligence agencies, and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) carried out coordinated operations at two locations where militants were believed to be hiding.

Suspects opened fire as forces surrounded the sites, killing one police officer and wounding five other security personnel.

Despite the resistance, authorities detained four commanders who were allegedly in contact with the suicide bomber and his handlers in Islamabad. Another suspected handler was also arrested from the outskirts of the capital.

Security officials said the attacker has been identified as a resident of Peshawar who allegedly spent five months in Afghanistan training with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), receiving instruction in Kunar province before returning to Pakistan last month.

The investigation remains ongoing, with officials expecting to uncover a wider network operating in the country.

At least 31 people were killed and 169 injured when the bomber detonated explosives inside a Shia Muslim imambargah during Friday prayers, one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in recent months.

Pakistani officials said the investigation would be completed within the next 48 hours, and the details would be shared with nation.

The official added that preliminary evidence points to the involvement of India and the Afghan Taliban; however, both New Delhi and Kabul denied their role in yesterday's attack.