Islamabad Blast: Suicide attack leaves 31 dead, 169 injured

At least 31 people were reportedly killed, and 169 were injured in a suicide bombing in Pakistan on Friday.

According to reports, the bombing took place at the Imambargah in the Tarlai area. The explosion comes after the Baloch Liberation Army claimed victory in Operation Herof II, a six-day campaign from Jan 31 to Feb 6 across 14 cities in Balochistan.

According to BLA's statement, they attacked military and state installations and took control of urban areas. About 93 BLA fighters died, including 50 fidaeen from the Majeed Brigade, 26 fighters from the Fateh Squad, and 17 from the Special Tactical Operations Squad (STOS).

Over 362 Pakistani personnel were killed, including members of the Pakistani Army, Frontier Corps, police, and state-sponsored death squads.

"The operation pursued three primary objectives: to demonstrate the capability of Baloch fighters to strike and control urban centres at will, to reaffirm to the Baloch nation that this resistance is rooted in collective strength and organisational discipline, and to dismantle the illusion of unchecked authority that the occupying forces have attempted to project across Balochistan,” the BLA statement read.

On the explosion in Imambargah, the Minister of State for Interior, Tallal Chaudhry, told the media in Islamabad that while the attacker was not an Afghan, authorities had been able to determine through forensic tests the number of times he had travelled to Afghanistan.