A suicide bombing at a crowded Shiite mosque south of Pakistan's capital killed 26 people, the latest evidence of how security in the US-allied nation is crumbling well beyond the Afghan border region where al-Qaida and Taliban fighters thrive.

The violence came Sunday as a senior Pakistani Taliban commander said his group was behind a deadly suicide bombing the night before in Islamabad and promised two more attacks per week in the country if the US does not stop missile strikes on Pakistani territory.

Sunday's suicide bomber set off his explosives at the entrance to a mosque in Chakwal city in Punjab province, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Islamabad, said Nadeem Hasan Asif, a top security official in the province.

The death toll from the explosion rose to 26 on Monday as at least four people died in hospitals overnight, said Chaudhry Zulfiqar, chief investigator in Chakwal. He said police have tightened security in the city to prevent any violence during a collective funeral planned for the victims later in the day.

A little-known group believed linked to the Pakistani Taliban claimed it staged the attack. Pakistan also has a history of sectarian violence, often involving Sunni extremists targeting minority Shiite Muslims.

TV footage showed pools of blood in front of the mosque. Torn clothes and shoes littered the ground, while at least one car and four motorcycles were damaged.

Farid Ali said he was leaving the mosque when he felt the blast on his back.

"I saw several people lying dead," he told Express News TV. "There was blood everywhere."

... contd.