Islamabad Shiite Mosque Blast Kills Dozens in Pakistan (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Hello, welcome to the program. Breaking news this hour, at least 31 people have been killed and more than 169 wounded in a massive explosion at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad. These are live pictures. The device was detonated, we're told, by a suspected suicide bomber in the middle of Friday prayers. Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shoaib Sharif, has expressed deep sorrow and grief at the scale of the attack. At the hospitals, there are desperate appeals for blood donations. The motive is not yet known, but the Shia minority in Pakistan have been a frequent target in recent years. Talat Hussain is a local journalist in Islamabad and was at the scene in the aftermath of the attack.

[00:00:42] Speaker 2: I saw scenes of destruction, I saw injured, badly injured people being transported to hospital ambulances, sirens, people wailing, the dead all around. By the time I reached there, which is like five kilometers from where I am talking to you, the area had already been cordoned off. I remember this is the day of Jummah, which is the big midday prayer in a week, and most people attend the Jummah prayer. So the Imam Bargah, the Shiite mosque was very crowded. So it was utter destruction and bloodletting, one of the biggest suicide attacks that I have witnessed in the past decade or so.

[00:01:26] Speaker 1: Talat Hussain reporting from Islamabad and of course we'll continue to monitor the situation there. We'll bring you more news on that.