Islamabad blast: ISIS affiliate claims responsibility for the attack that killed 36

The Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad, which killed at least 36 people and injured many others.In a statement released through its Amaq News Agency, the Islamic State in Pakistan, an offshoot of Daesh, said the bomber opened fire at security guards when they tried to stop him at the entrance and then exploded inside among worshippers.The group also said Shiite Muslims in Pakistan were a target, claiming they provided recruits to militias fighting the Islamic State in Syria.The blast took place on Friday at the Khadijatul Kubra mosque-cum-shrine in the Tarlie area of the capital. The attacker, identified as 32-year-old Yasir from Peshawar, entered the mosque while worshippers were offering weekly prayers and detonated explosives.Authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said they arrested four suspects, including three alleged facilitators and the mastermind, during intelligence-based raids in Peshawar and Nowshera. Investigators said an identity card recovered during the probe confirmed the attacker’s identity. Official records showed his permanent address in Abbas Colony on Charsadda Road in Peshawar.Officials also said the attacker had spent around five months in Afghanistan before the bombing, where he allegedly received training in weapons handling and suicide attacks.Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif had earlier claimed that India and Afghanistan were involved in the attack, without presenting any evidence. India had strongly rejected the allegations, saying, “It is unfortunate that, instead of seriously addressing the problems plaguing its social fabric, Pakistan should choose to delude itself by blaming others for its home-grown ills. India rejects any and every such allegation, which is as baseless as it is pointless.”