ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces raided multiple locations and arrested four suspects, including the alleged mastermind, behind a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of the capital that killed 31 people, the interior minister said Saturday.
The announcement by Mohsin Naqvi came a day after a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group, identifying itself as Islamic State in Pakistan, claimed responsibility in a statement carried by its Amaq News Agency. The statement said the attacker on Friday opened fire on security guards who tried to stop him at the main gate before detonating his explosive vest after reaching the mosque’s inner gate.
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Police commandos take position on a Shiite mosque, the site of Friday's suicide bombing, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Mourners carry coffins of the victims of Friday's suicide bombing inside a Shiite mosque, after a funeral prayer, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
People mourn over coffins of their relatives, who were killed in Friday's suicide bombing inside a Shiite mosque, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Mourners arrange the coffins of the victims of Friday's suicide bombing inside a Shiite mosque, during a funeral prayer, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
People mourn next the coffin of their relatives, who were killed in Friday's suicide bombing inside a Shiite mosque, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Pakistani paramilitary soldiers control a crowd close to the site of a bomb explosion at a Shiite mosque, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Relatives and volunteers transport a victim of bomb explosion in a Shiite mosque, from at a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/M.A Sheikh)
Relatives and volunteers transport a victim of bomb explosion in a Shiite mosque, from at a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/M.A Sheikh)
The IS group suggested it viewed the Pakistani Shiites as legitimate targets, calling them a “human reservoir” that provided recruits to Shiite militias fighting IS in Syria.
Friday’s mosque bombing that also wounded 169 people was the deadliest in Islamabad since a 2008 suicide bombing at the Marriott Hotel that killed 63 people and wounded more than 250. In November, a suicide bomber struck outside a court in the capital, killing 12 people.
Naqvi described the suspected mastermind of the bombing as an Afghan linked to IS. He alleged the attack was planned and the bomber trained in Afghanistan with financial backing from India— claims for which he provided no immediate evidence. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi and Kabul.
Naqvi also alleged that several militant groups were operating from the Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan and urged the international community to take notice, warning that instability could spread beyond the region.
Addressing public concerns about security lapses, he said, “If one blast happens, 99 others are being foiled as well.”
Earlier, more than 2,000 grief-stricken mourners gathered as coffins of those killed were brought to the same mosque for funerals of about a dozen victims, joined by Shiite community leaders and senior government officials. Funerals of other victims were to be held in their hometowns.
IS is a Sunni group that has targeted Pakistan's Shiite minority in the past, apparently seeking to stoke sectarian divisions in the majority Sunni country. In 2022, it claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that struck a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 56 and wounding 194.
Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif told reporters Friday that the attack signaled that Pakistan-based militants operating from Afghanistan could strike even in the capital. His remarks drew a sharp response from Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
In a statement, Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry condemned the mosque attack in Islamabad but said the Pakistani defense minister had “irresponsibly” linked it to Afghanistan. Pakistan has frequently accused Afghanistan, where the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, of harboring militants, including members of the Pakistani Taliban. Kabul denies the accusations.
The attack drew condemnation from the wider international community, including the United States, Russia and the European Union.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was grateful for the messages of sympathy and support received “from across the globe” following what he called the “heart-wrenching suicide attack in Islamabad.” He said international support remained critical to Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts and vowed the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
Although Pakistan's capital has seen relatively few attacks compared with other regions, the country has experienced a recent rise in militant violence. Much of it has been blamed on Balochseparatists and the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is a separate group but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban.
Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
Police commandos take position on a Shiite mosque, the site of Friday's suicide bombing, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Mourners carry coffins of the victims of Friday's suicide bombing inside a Shiite mosque, after a funeral prayer, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
People mourn over coffins of their relatives, who were killed in Friday's suicide bombing inside a Shiite mosque, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Mourners arrange the coffins of the victims of Friday's suicide bombing inside a Shiite mosque, during a funeral prayer, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
People mourn next the coffin of their relatives, who were killed in Friday's suicide bombing inside a Shiite mosque, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Pakistani paramilitary soldiers control a crowd close to the site of a bomb explosion at a Shiite mosque, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Relatives and volunteers transport a victim of bomb explosion in a Shiite mosque, from at a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/M.A Sheikh)
Relatives and volunteers transport a victim of bomb explosion in a Shiite mosque, from at a hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/M.A Sheikh)
Iran’s president rejected a demand by the United States for an unconditional surrender on Saturday and apologized for Iran’s attacks on regional countries, as Israel and the United States kept up their airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic.
Gulf countries say they have intercepted more ballistic missiles and drones launched from Iran.
Saudi Arabia said it stopped four drones attacking the country’s massive Shaybah oil field, the second attack within hours. Flights in and out of Dubai International Airport were interrupted after passengers were ushered down into train tunnels as several blasts were heard and the alert sounded.
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes hammered Beirut and Tehran. Death toll continued to rise Saturday with at least 1,230 people killed in Iran, more than 200 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials. Six U.S. troops were reported killed.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration approved a new $151 million arms sale to Israel after Trump said he would not negotiate with Iran without its “unconditional surrender.”
Here is the latest:
Bahrain’s military intercepted two missiles and a drone on Saturday, the Defense Ministry said.
That brought to 86 missiles and 148 drones that have been intercepted over Bahrain since the U.S. and Israel launched war against Iran last weekend.
India’s foreign minister said Saturday that an Iranian naval vessel has docked in India, after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship and another vessel sought assistance from Sri Lanka.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the IRIS Lavan is docked in southern Kochi city, after India granted permission when the vessel reported “having problems” on March 1. “I think it was the humane thing to do,” Jaishankar said.
A U.S. submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Another vessel, the IRIS Bushehr, requested assistance from Sri Lanka and more than 200 sailors were brought ashore. Both ships had previously taken part in naval exercises hosted by India, but Jaishankar said they got “caught on the wrong side of events” once the war began.
Dubai and its long-haul carrier Emirates said Saturday the airline would resume operations after temporarily halting them following an Iranian attack on the city-state.
The news brought cheers in Dubai International Airport, where passengers had been sheltering after hearing a large boom overhead.
Authorities have not explained if there was an interception or damage at the airport, which is the world’s busiest for international travel.
An Israeli airstrike flattened a residential building in southern Lebanon, killing at least six people early Saturday, the country’s state-run news agency reported.
The dead from the strike in Jibchit town included four from the same family, the National News Agency said.
The Lebanese Health Ministry earlier reported at least 16 killed and 35 wounded in overnight Israeli airstrikes in the mountain town of Nabi Chit.
Sirens sounded in Bahrain ahead of a potential attack for the fifth time Saturday, the interior ministry said, urging people to head to the nearest safe location.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said Saturday that Israeli airstrikes killed at least 16 people and wounded 35 others in overnight Israeli airstrikes in the mountain town of Nabi Chit.
The Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah said its fighters clashed with an Israeli force that landed late Friday in the mountains of eastern Lebanon.
Israel has yet to comment on the fighting there.
The Dubai Media Office issued a statement on behalf of the city-state, saying: “For the safety of passengers, airport staff, and airline crew, operations at Dubai International (DXB) have been temporarily suspended.”
It did not give a reason for the suspension, which came after passengers there heard a loud boom while sheltering.
Masoud Pezeshkian said the country’s three-man leadership council had been in touch with the armed forces over the attacks.
“I should apologize to the neighboring countries that were attacked by Iran, on my own behalf,” the president said. “From now on, they should not attack neighboring countries or fire missiles at them, unless we are attacked by those countries. I think we should solve this through diplomacy.”
He also suggested miscommunication in the ranks caused it. However, his statement aired after repeated attacks Saturday morning on Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has been at the forefront of the war, answers only to the country’s supreme leader. However, an Israeli airstrike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, at the start of the war on Feb. 28.
Pezeshkian, in his comments, specifically blamed the killing of Khamenei and other top leaders for what sounded like a loss of command and control in the armed forces for days.
It remained unclear just what command Pezeshkian and the leadership council could exert over the armed forces.
Iranian state television, after airing his speech, immediately went back to praising the country’s ongoing attacks across the region.
Passengers at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, heard a boom while sheltering in train tunnels at the massive facility.
Emirates has been trying to get its sprawling travel network up and running after several days of halting flights due to the war.
Iran’s president said Saturday that a demand by the United States for an unconditional surrender is a “dream that they should take to their grave.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian made the statement in a prerecorded address aired by state television.
Pakistan cited a surge in global oil prices due to the war in the Middle East.
Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced the 55-rupee-per-liter (about $0.20) increase overnight, saying the government had little choice but to pass on the impact of rising international prices.
Pakistan relies heavily on imported oil, mainly from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.
The Israeli military said the Imam Hussein University in Tehran was used for the training of Revolutionary Guard officers and contained “multiple military assets” used by the Revolutionary Guard.
It said over 80 fighter jets participated in the latest wave of strikes on Saturday, which also targeted an underground compound used for storing ballistic missiles and housing command centers from where the army said “senior officials of the Iranian regime” were operating.
Targets also included launch sites in central and western Iran, the army said.
Explosions echoed across Iran’s capital, Tehran, Saturday morning as new airstrikes hit the city.
The strikes appeared to target downtown Tehran and government buildings there.
Passengers waiting for flights at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, found themselves ushered down into train tunnels at the sprawling airfield after missile alert sounded.
Mobile phone alerts sounded Saturday morning in Dubai over “potential missile threats.” Emirati authorities urged the public to seek immediate shelter.
Emirati air defenses had activated over the missile threat, the government added.
Trump berated a reporter for raising the matter when the president opened the floor to questions from the media at the end of a White House meeting about how paying student-athletes has recalibrated college sports.
“I have a lot of respect for you, you’ve always been very nice to me,” Trump said to Peter Doocy, the Fox News reporter. “What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We’re talking about something else.”
People headed to bomb shelters across Israel early Saturday after hearing loud booms as Iranian missiles attacked more targets.
There were no immediate reports of casualties by Israel’s emergency services.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Plumes of smoke rise as strikes hit the city during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, March 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
