ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: Thousands of mourners gathered in Islamabad on Saturday to start burying the 36 people killed in a suicide bombing at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque during Friday prayers, as the city tightened security due to concerns there could be further attacks.
In Friday's attack a man opened fire at the Khadija Tul Kubra Imambargah compound on the outskirts of Pakistan's capital, then detonated a bomb that killed 36 people, as well as himself, and injured more than 170.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest of its kind in Islamabad in more than a decade, in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
While bombings are rare in heavily guarded Islamabad, this is the second such attack in three months and -- given a recent rise in militancy -- they have triggered fears of a return to violence in Pakistan's major urban centres.
Security was visibly beefed up across the city, with police checkpoints set up on all main roads and streets leading to important sites. Police and elite commandos stood guard as funeral prayers for some of the victims were held in an open area near the Imambargah.
The government had boosted Islamabad's security and would be taking further steps to make sure it was "foolproof", Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
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