Islamabad , 6 Feb : A powerful explosion struck near an imambargah in the Tarlai area of Islamabad on Friday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 80, according to local media reports.
Several others were injured in the blast and are being shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for treatment. Authorities said further details were awaited.
The blast comes days after Balochistan witnessed a series of deadly attacks attributed to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), in which 36 civilians, including women and children, and 22 security and law enforcement personnel were killed.
Security agencies cordoned off the area following the explosion in Tarlai, while emergency services rushed the injured to the hospital.
Officials have not yet confirmed the nature of the blast or whether it was a targeted attack.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over security in the capital amid heightened militant activity in the country.
BLA Claims Operation Herof II Is Ongoing
The Baloch Liberation Army said its operation titled ‘Operation Herof II’ has entered its sixth consecutive day. The claim was made in a statement posted on February 5 by Jeeyand Baloch, spokesperson for the BLA.
According to the statement, the BLA asserted that the operation remains ongoing with what it described as determination, consistency, and military success. It rejected statements issued by Pakistan’s military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), calling them propaganda.
The statement said that any claims by the Pakistani state or its media apparatus regarding the conclusion of the operation should be regarded as false until the BLA itself announces its end.
It is alleged that ISPR press releases during the operation have been contradictory and misleading. Pakistani authorities, according to the claim, repeatedly announced the end of the operation. They also claimed that the attackers had been eliminated over the past six days.
Jeeyand Baloch’s post also addressed casualties. It stated that BLA fighters, referred to as Sarmachars and Fidaeens, consider martyrdom an honourable outcome.
The statement further alleged that the BLA publicly acknowledges its fallen members. It claimed that the Pakistani army withholds identities of those killed. It also alleged that burials are conducted without public disclosure.
