ISLAMABAD: At least 30 people were killed and over 160 injured in a suicide attack during Friday prayers at a Shia religious centre in Islamabad on Friday.
The explosion occurred at Tarlai Imambargah in the Shehzad Town area of the Pakistan capital.
The suicide bomber was reportedly stopped at the gate of the Imambargah, but he blew himself up, they said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion.
However, police sources said that the attacker was a foreign national and had links with Fitna al Khwaraji, a term used for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Police and rescue services reached the site and started rescue operations.
Citing a spokesperson for Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the Express Tribune newspaper reported that an emergency was declared at the hospital.
The injured are being transferred to PIMS and Polyclinic for treatment, it added.
The attack came when Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was visiting Pakistan. He arrived on a two-day state visit on Thursday.
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack.
"Targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity," Zardari said.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the attack and asked authorities to ensure the provision of best medical care to the wounded persons arriving at different hospitals in the city.
The latest attack comes around three months after a suicide bombing outside a district court in Islamabad in November last year. 12 people were killed in the blast.
(With inputs from PTI, AP)