Three people were killed and two injured in a gun-and-suicide bomb attack at an Imambargah during Magreb prayers here yesterday. According to police, the blast occurred when a suicide bomber managed to enter the premises of Imambargah Qasar-e-Sakina at Shakaryal road near the Islamabad Expressway after he opened indiscriminate fire on security guards to enter Imambaragah's main hall. The suicide bomber, however, failed to reach the main hall as his suicide jacket exploded only partially.
Soon after the attack, a heavy contingent of police, Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) and army personnel rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area. Rescue workers and ambulances of different organisations also rushed to the scene and shifted the bodies and the injured to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and other hospitals. Emergency was declared in all the hospitals of the twin cities after the blast. Police said the BDS team successfully defused the undetonated part of the suicide vest while police took the body of the suicide bomber into custody. Eyewitnesses said the blast shattered the windowpanes of the nearby buildings.
Dr Ashya Esani, the spokesperson Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) told media persons that two dead bodies brought to the hospital; while three critically injured people were under intensive treatment. The dead were identified as Ghulam Hussain, 60, and Abdul Shakoor, 56. Hospital sources said that an injured Sahawat Hussain, 60, died in the hospital during a surgical procedure. They said that dead and injured had received bullet injuries. According to eyewitness Muhammad Yousaf, the attacker's suicide vest detonated at the gate when he was trying to enter the main hall of Imambargah. "After hearing gunshots outside the hall, he immediately closed the main gate of imambargah and asked the worshippers to hide inside the main hall," he said. Police and army personnel conducted a search operation in the area.