Islamabad imambargah suicide bombing: relatives of attacker arrested as operations intensify

WEB DESK: Investigators probing the suicide bombing in Islamabad have arrested several close relatives of the attacker and killed a key facilitator as security agencies expand operations across the country.

According to officials, the suicide bomber has been identified as Yasir, son of Bahadur Khan. His brother-in-law was arrested in Karachi, while his brother was taken into custody in Peshawar as part of coordinated raids carried out in multiple cities.

Authorities said a key facilitator linked to the attack was killed during an operation in Nowshera. The individual was described as a central figure in providing logistical support to the bomber and helping plan the attack.

In what investigators termed a major breakthrough, the bomber’s mother was also arrested from a house in a posh sector of Islamabad. Officials said her detention was crucial to establishing the bomber’s network, movements and sources of support prior to the attack.

Security agencies said the arrests and the killing of the facilitator were part of an ongoing nationwide crackdown launched in the aftermath of the Islamabad terror attack. Intelligence-based operations are currently under way across several provinces to dismantle militant cells, identify facilitators and prevent further attacks.

Authorities reiterated that all individuals involved in planning, facilitating or supporting the attack would be brought to justice, adding that operations would continue until the entire network behind the bombing is neutralised.

Funeral prayers held

Earlier, funeral prayers were held in Islamabad on Saturday for several victims of the suicide bombing that targeted an imambargah in the capital’s Tarlai area, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 160 others. The attack, carried out during Friday prayers at Imambargah Qasr-i-Khadijatul Kubra, is being described as the deadliest incident in Islamabad since the 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing.

Grieving families and community members attended the funerals amid heightened security, alongside senior political figures including Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Raja Khurram Nawaz and Senator Nayyar Bukhari. Authorities cautioned that the death toll could still rise, as several injured remain in critical condition.

According to security officials, the suicide bomber was intercepted at the imambargah’s entrance and detonated his explosives after being stopped by volunteer guards. Eyewitnesses reported a brief exchange of gunfire before the blast ripped through the prayer hall, causing widespread devastation.

Investigators later identified the attacker through forensic evidence and Nadra records as a resident of Peshawar’s walled city. Preliminary findings suggest links to the Islamic State group, with evidence indicating the bomber had travelled to Afghanistan multiple times. Law enforcement agencies launched geo-fencing, analysed CCTV footage and conducted raids in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Nowshera, as the investigation expanded nationwide.