ISLAMABAD: In a major breakthrough, intelligence agencies, in coordination with law enforcement agencies (LEAs), have arrested four facilitators, including the mastermind behind the suicide blast at Islamabad’s Khadijah al-Kubra Imambargah, security sources said on Saturday.
The sources said the Afghan mastermind of the suicide attack is affiliated with Daesh. They added that Daesh trained and brainwashed the attacker in Afghanistan, noting that militant outfits operating under the patronage of the Afghan Taliban pose a major threat to regional and global peace.
A security personnel was martyred and three others were injured during the operation, the sources said.
The development came a day after at least 33 people were martyred and dozens injured in a suicide blast at an Islamabad imambargah during Friday prayer.
The attacker detonated himself at the entrance of imambargah in the federal capital’s Tarlai area after opening fire.
Investigators said they recovered the suspected bomber’s identity card at the blast site, which showed his name as Yasir, 32, a resident of Peshawar, according to the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).
Funeral prayers for some of the victims were held in Islamabad today with federal ministers, along with a large number of people in attendance.
Facilitators, recce
Amid raids and arrests in Peshawar and Nowshera as well, the attacker’s mother has also been arrested in Islamabad.
So far, four facilitators have been arrested with security sources saying that the attack was planned, trained and brainwashed by Daesh in Afghanistan.
Attacker Yasir, they added, was constantly in touch with his brother-in-law, and the incident was not an individual act, but rather was a result of a facilitation structure.
The suicide bomber went to Afghanistan in May and returned in June.
In June 2025, Yasir activated a new mobile SIM in Bajaur, and from June 27 to October, he remained in Bajaur.
The suicide bomber later moved from Bajaur to Nowshera’s Hakimabad and conducted the recce of Islamabad’s imambargah on February 2 — with target selection and surveillance taking place over a period of several weeks before the suicide attack.
The attacker reached Islamabad from Nowshera wearing a suicide vest via public transport, and before reaching the incident site, he stayed at a nearby hotel for a brief period.
The terrorist reached the imambargah on foot from the Khanna Road, sources maintained.
Furthermore, police sources say that the attacker fired two bullets while on his way and shot four more after entering the imambargah.
The investigative agencies found all the bullet casings at the scene.
They also added that four to five kilogrammes of explosives were used in the attack, with a high number of ball bearings.
Nowshera operation
Separately, Nowshera’s Regional Police Officer Rab Nawaz Khan has said that at least one terrorist was killed, and three other suspects were arrested during a counterterror action against those behind the suicide attack in the federal capital.
An investigation is underway with the arrested individuals, added RPO Khan.
Meanwhile, police spokesperson has said that an assistant sub inspector (ASI) embraced martyrdom during an operation in the Hakimabad area, whereas another ASI and a constable were injured.
The funeral prayers for the martyred policeman have been offered.
