Mastermind of Islamabad mosque blast held, death toll rises to 36

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday that security forces had arrested four facilitators of the suicide attack on a mosque during Friday prayer in the capital Islamabad, including the alleged main mastermind, reported Xinhua.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Naqvi said overnight intelligence-based coordinated operations led to the arrests.

Initial investigations indicate that the planning, training and indoctrination of the attacker were carried out in Afghanistan by the Islamic State, according to the interior minister, adding that further intelligence-based operations would continue.

Naqvi noted that there is close coordination among multiple militant groups, claiming that numerous militant networks are operating from Afghanistan.

According to the district administration of Islamabad, the death toll from Friday's attack has risen to 36 after some of the wounded succumbed to their injuries during the treatment.