Describing the aftermath of the attack, Kazim said uninjured worshipers went to the aid of the injured
People cry next to the coffins of their relatives during funeral prayers a day after a suicide bombing at an imambargah in Islamabad. Photo: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
A worshiper at the Imambargah in Islamabad, where dozens of people died in a suicide blast on Friday, described an “extremely powerful” blast that tore through the building just after prayers started.
Muhammad Kazim, 52, told AFP that he arrived at the Imambargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra shortly after 6 p.m. 1pm on Friday and took a seat about seven or eight rows from the imam.
“During the first bow of the Namaz (prayer ritual) we heard gunshots,” he told AFP outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital, where many of the injured were being treated.
“And while we were still in the bow position, there was an explosion,” he said.
Kazim, who is from Gilgit-Baltistan and lives in Islamabad, escaped unhurt but accompanied his injured friend to PIMS hospital for treatment.
“It was unclear whether it was a suicide bomb, but the explosion was extremely powerful and caused several casualties,” Kazim said.
“Debris fell from the roof and windows were broken,” he added. “When I came outside, many bodies were scattered… Many people lost their lives.”
Another worshipper, Imran Mahmood, described a gun battle between the suicide bomber, a possible accomplice and volunteer security personnel at the mosque.
“The suicide bomber tried to move forward, but one of our wounded volunteers shot at him from behind and hit him in the thigh,” Mahmood, who is in his fifties, told AFP.
“He fell but got back up. Another man following him opened fire on our volunteers,” he said, adding that the attacker “then jumped onto the gate and detonated the explosives”.
Describing the aftermath of the attack, Kazim said uninjured worshipers went to the aid of the injured.
“People tried to help on their own, carrying two or three bodies in the trunk of their vehicles while ambulances arrived about 20 to 25 minutes later,” he told AFP.
“No one was allowed to approach the mosque afterwards.”
Kazim, who has been performing Friday prayers at the mosque “for the past three to four weeks”, said security had been lax.
“I have never seen proper security in place,” he told AFP.
“Volunteers manage security on their own, but they lack the necessary equipment to do it effectively,” he said.
