At least 31 people were killed and 169 others were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia mosque during Friday prayers in Pakistan's capital.
"The death toll in the blast has risen. A total of 31 people have lost their lives. The number of wounded brought to hospitals have risen to 169," Islamabad's deputy commissioner Irfan Memon told Reuters.
Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported the casualty figures – which might go up – from the explosion at Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra in the Tarlai area quoting a district administration spokesperson.
Friday’s attack comes at a time when Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is on a two-day official visit to Pakistan.
The suicide bomber was stopped at the gate of the Imambargah but he blew himself up, news agency PTI reported quoting sources.
No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.
Police sources told PTI that the attacker was a foreign national and had links with Fitna al Khwaraji, a term used for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Dawn reported Islamabad Capital Territory Police spokesperson Taqi Jawad as saying that that the signs pointed to a suicide bomber.
Rescue teams and police rushed to the site of the attack and began rescue operations.
An emergency was declared in the hospitals of the capital to deal with the situation, as the injured were being shifted to hospitals.
The attack came less than three months after a suicide bomber killed 12 people in a blast outside a district and sessions court building in Islamabad.