Tarlai mosque attack: Investigators reveal suicide bomber’s details

ISLAMABAD: Investigators have disclosed key details about the suicide bomber who carried out a deadly attack at a mosque in Islamabad’s Tarlai area.

According to official sources, the attacker has been identified as 25-year-old Yasir. He reportedly used between four and six kilograms of explosives packed with ball bearings.

Sources said Yasir fired two shots before entering the mosque and another six shots inside before detonating his suicide jacket. All bullet casings were recovered from the scene.

Police revealed that Yasir had been missing from his home for over a year and remained in intermittent contact with his family via phone calls during that period.

Investigators said the bomber had conducted a recce of the mosque before the attack. He travelled from Nowshera to Islamabad using public transport while wearing the suicide jacket.

Before reaching the mosque, Yasir briefly stopped at a nearby hotel and then walked along Khanna Road to the attack site.

According to sources, the attacker received militant training in Afghanistan and had travelled there multiple times before returning to Pakistan.

Sources further warned that terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan continue to pose a threat to regional security under the Taliban regime.

They also said that recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan involve coordination between elements based in Afghanistan and India.

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have arrested an ISIS-affiliated Afghan national identified as the mastermind of the Tarlai mosque suicide attack, along with four facilitators.

According to security sources, the arrests were made during intelligence-based operations conducted in Peshawar and Nowshera cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The raids were carried out using both technical surveillance and human intelligence.

The suicide bombing targeted a mosque in Tarlai Kalan on Friday, killing at least 33 people and injuring scores of others.

Security officials said four facilitators of the suicide bomber were taken into custody, while the Afghan national identified as the ISIS mastermind of the attack was also arrested.