Pakistan boosted security on Saturday fearing further attacks a day after a suicide bombing in Islamabad killing 14 people. Authorities were also investigating how the attacker was able to strike at a crowded market in the heart of the capital, the 13th suicide blast to hit the country since a bloody army raid on Lal Mosque on July 10.
The bomber targeted officers who were policing Islamic students who had occupied the controversial Lal Mosque to demand that their jailed former cleric should lead prayers after its chaotic reopening on Friday.
"Security has been tightened and a joint investigation team has been assembled," Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema told AFP. Cheema added that the remains of the suicide bomber had been found and were being DNA tested to establish his identity. He said the mosque had been closed indefinitely, adding the suicide attack was "in all probability linked to the Lal Mosque issue."
Islamabad police chief Iftikhar Chaudhry said 56 people had been arrested over the mosque disturbance and were being interrogated, but no one had yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
"There are indications that the bomber may have tried to carry out a suicide attack at the Lal Mosque but because of the tight security he was prevented," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The attacker "found an opportunity where a police unit was assembled and blew himself up."
The official added that there was a likelihood of more suicide attacks to come. A senior militant source said the attack showed that Islamic rebels had "ready-made suicide bombers who can be launched at short notice."
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