Pakistan , Feb 8 : Pakistan police have arrested three people, including two men and a woman, in Peshawar in connection with the suicide attack on a Shia mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 31 people, officials said on Saturday.
The arrests were made during a late-night operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital following Friday’s deadly attack at the Khadijah al-Kubra mosque-cum-imambargah in Islamabad’s Tarlai area. The blast also left 169 people injured, making it one of the deadliest attacks targeting the Shia community in recent years.
A police official said the detained men are brothers of the alleged suicide bomber, while the woman is also suspected to be linked to the attack. Interrogation of all three is currently underway.
Investigators said an identity card recovered during the operation helped confirm the attacker’s identity as Yasir. Official records indicate that his permanent address was in Abbas Colony, Shiro Jangi, along Charsadda Road in Peshawar, while he had also been residing temporarily in Ganj Mohalla Qaziyan in the city.
According to investigation officials, the attacker had reportedly spent around five months in Afghanistan prior to the bombing, where he is believed to have received training in weapons handling and suicide attacks.
Following these findings, security agencies have intensified efforts to trace and dismantle the network behind the attack. Police said further raids are being carried out in Peshawar and neighbouring Nowshera district to identify facilitators and contacts linked to the incident.
Officials said the investigation is being pursued from all angles and additional evidence is expected to emerge that could shed more light on the planning and execution of the attack.
