The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has claimed responsibility for the fidayeen suicide bombing that struck the Qaiser Khadeejatul Kubra Shia mosque in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, on Friday afternoon, once again highlighting the entrenched sectarian terror networks operating within the country.
In a statement issued through its official propaganda outlet, the Amaq Agency, ISKP said the attack was carried out as “revenge” against Pakistan’s Shia community for their alleged participation in fighting Islamic State fighters in Syria under the banner of the Iran-backed Zainabiyoun Brigade.
Alongside the claim, ISKP released a photograph of the suicide bomber with his face blurred, in keeping with its standard propaganda practice.
Attacker Identified As Pakistani National
Pakistan’s security agencies have identified the attacker as 26-year-old Yasir Khan, a resident of Peshawar, confirming that the suicide bombing at the Islamabad Shia mosque was carried out by a Pakistani national.
The attack has left at least 31 people dead and more than 170 injured, according to official figures.
‘Zainabiyoun Retaliation’ Narrative Revisited
This is not the first time Pakistan’s Shia population has been targeted under the pretext of “Zainabiyoun retaliation”.
In December 2015, Sipah-e-Sahaba’s proxy outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi carried out a fidayeen attack on the Shia community in Parachinar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing 25 people and injuring over 30. At the time, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi warned that unless Pakistani Shias stopped fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, further attacks would follow.
Roots of Pakistan’s Sectarian Terror Ecosystem
Pakistan’s sectarian violence traces back to the early 1990s, following the rise of the anti-Shia extremist group Sipah-e-Sahaba, founded in 1990, and its armed proxy Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, established in 1996.
In response, Shia militants formed Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan (SMP) in 1994 as a retaliatory force, targeting senior Sipah-e-Sahaba leaders and Sunni collaborators accused of facilitating violence against Shias.
Although Pakistan banned both Sipah-e-Sahaba and Sipah-e-Mohammad in 2002, SMP continued operating across Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until at least 2010, with training, funding and logistical support from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
From SMP To Lashkar-e-Zainabiyoun
In 2012, following Iranian directives, over 2,000 fighters from Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan were redeployed to Syria and Iraq to fight Islamic State and US-led forces. The unit was rebranded as Liwa Zainabiyoun, also known as Lashkar-e-Zainabiyoun.
Despite large-scale overseas deployment, SMP operatives continued functioning inside Pakistan against Sipah-e-Sahaba networks. Iran also recruited nearly 1,000 undocumented Pakistani Shias living in Iran, inducting them into Lashkar-e-Zainabiyoun after training.
Today, Lashkar-e-Zainabiyoun reportedly has more than 5,000 fighters engaged in combat against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. The group is led by Abid Hussain Turi alias Tehran Turi, who is based in Upper Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where armed clashes with Sipah-e-Sahaba cadres continue.
ISKP’s Operational Bases Inside Pakistan
ISKP currently operates from Mastung in Balochistan and Khyber district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it has established permanent bases.
In Balochistan, ISKP operations are led by chief Shahab al-Muhajir in collaboration with Mir Shafiq Mengal, a former Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and head of Musallah Difa Tanzim. Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi form key components of this network.
The Mastung-based ISKP faction carries out attacks across Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Central Asia and South Asia, while also targeting Baloch resistance fighters and Pakistan’s Shia population.
New ISKP Unit In Khyber District
Since December 2025, a new ISKP unit has been operational in Pakistan’s Khyber district under the leadership of Hafiz Zubair Mujahid, a former Lashkar-e-Taiba commander who now serves as ISKP’s Nizam-e-Ala, as reported by ABP News on January 21.
The unit operates under the operational control of senior LeT commander Huzaifa Bakarwal alias Shafiq Bhai. Multiple intelligence sources allege that Pakistan’s military establishment and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have tasked this ISKP–LeT hybrid module with carrying out attacks in India while maintaining plausible deniability.
Allegations Of State Collusion
Retired Pakistan Army Major Adil Raja described the Islamabad mosque bombing as a joint operation of Sipah-e-Sahaba and ISKP.
On his YouTube channel @SoldierSpeaks, Raja released photographs showing ISKP coordinator Shafiq Mengal posing with Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti and former Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq. He described the images as “direct evidence” of state collusion, claiming that Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies are not combating terrorism but “running it as a strategic business”.
A Policy Turning Inward
The Islamabad Shia mosque bombing underscores how Pakistan’s long-standing policy of nurturing terror proxies has increasingly turned inward, with its own citizens bearing the cost. The February 6 attack, which killed at least 31 people and injured more than 170, marks another chapter in a cycle of violence rooted in decades of proxy militancy.
