RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: A powerful explosion took place near an Imambargah in new Shakrial area of Rawalpindi on Wednesday that left at least three persons dead and seven others injured.
A splinter group of banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundullah, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said that the blast was a reaction to the military operation Zarb-e-Azb in the North Waziristan tribal region.
The security sources said that the blast occurred outside the Qasar-e-Sakina Imambargah on Kurri Road.
The sources said that a suicide bomber tried to enter the Qasar-e-Sakina Imambargah; however, the security officials stopped him from entering the Imambargah and in the meantime he blew himself up.
The injured persons were rushed to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and the District Headquarters Hospital for medical treatment.
A spokesman of the PIMS said that the names of those killed in the blasts were Ghulam Hussain and Abdul Shakoor while injured included M Altaf Hussain, Syed Sakhawat and Syed Sajid Ali Shah.
The security forces reached the blast site and cordoned off the area.
Meanwhile, President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the terrorist attack.
It was the fourth time since the beginning of 2015 that Shia places of worship were targeted in terror attacks.
In the most recent attack that took place on February 13 inside an Imambargah in Hayatabad area of Peshawar, killed at least 23 persons.
Earlier on January 9 and January 30, separate terror attacks were carried out in Imambargahs located in Rawalpindi and Shikarpur, leaving dozens of people including children dead.
