Pakistani Shiite Muslims attend a protest against the suicide bombing that killed dozens at a Shiite Muslim mosque in Islamabad on Friday. Photo by Arshad Arbab/EPA
Feb. 7 (UPI) — Investigators arrested four suspects, including the alleged mastermind, in Friday’s mosque bombing that killed 31 and injured 169 in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Among the suspects is an Afghan national thought to be the bombing’s mastermind, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told media.
The four suspects killed a counterterrorism officer and wounded three others during raids on their respective locations, Naqvi said.
The bombing happened during Friday prayers at a Shiite mosque in the Tarlai area of Islamabad, and the Islamic State claimed responsibility.
A suicide bomber entered the mosque and detonated an explosives-laden vest while the mosque was full of worshipers, The New York Times reported.
Pakistani officials on Friday said the suicide bomber was not from Afghanistan but had traveled to the country several times.
The attack is the deadliest carried out in Pakistan’s capital city in more than 10 years, and large crowds gathered in Islamabad on Saturday as mourners began preparing for funerals.
Naqvi claimed India funded those who carried out the attack, but India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the accusation “baseless” and condemned the attack.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday said the Afghan government might have had a role in the bombing.
Officials in Afghanistan said the accusation lacks “credible evidence” and called it “regrettable.”
A November attack in Islamabad killed 12 and injured 27, and Friday’s attack happened after a series of attacks in Balochistan killed 58 during several days of violence.
The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Pakistani forces killed an estimated 200 BLA militants in retaliatory raids.