At least 12 people were killed in a suicide bombing outside court buildings in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Tuesday, the country's Interior Minister said.
Speaking at the scene of the incident, Mohsin Naqvi said: "At 12.39pm, a suicide attack was carried out at the Kachehri [district courts] ... so far 12 people have been martyred and around 27 are wounded."
A breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bombing came less than 24 hours after an explosion in New Delhi, India, killed at least eight people near the landmark Red Fort. That incident was being investigated under India's counter-terrorism laws.
Twelve dead in suicide bombing outside Islamabad court - in pictures
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Forensic experts examine a car after a suicide bombing outside the district court in Islamabad. AFP -
Damaged vehicles close to the court building are examined for clues. AFP -
Rescue workers searching for dead and survivors move a stretcher outside the court building in Islamabad. Reuters -
A firefighter douses the wreck of a car with water as forensic officials examine the area outside the court in Islamabad for clues. Reuters -
Pakistan's Federal Minister of the Interior Mohsin Naqvi visits the site to assess the investigation. AFP -
Security officials examine damaged vehicles. AP -
Soldiers take up guard positions at the courthouse in Islamabad in anticipation of a militant threat. AP
The attacker in Pakistan tried to enter the court premises "but, failing to do so, targeted a police vehicle”, Mr Naqvi said. He refrained from blaming any militant group but said authorities were “looking into all aspects” of the attack.
Several vehicles parked outside the court were damaged in the blast, which was heard far from the court site, state media reported. The area is typically crowded with hundreds of people attending hearings.
According to Pakistan TV, the casualties were mostly passers-by or those who had arrived for court hearings. Islamabad police have said they are investigating.
In a post on X, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the bombing, expressed deep condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the early recovery of those injured.
Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistani security personnel said they foiled an attempt by militants to take cadets hostage at an army-run college, which was attacked by a car bomber and five other people overnight.
The authorities blamed the Pakistani Taliban – which is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban – but the group denied involvement in that attack on Monday evening.
The cadet college is in Wana, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border. The area had until recently served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban, Al Qaeda and other foreign militants.
According to the military, the assailants wanted to repeat what happened during a 2014 attack when Taliban gunmen killed 154 people, mostly children, at an army-run school in Peshawar.
The Pakistani Taliban have become emboldened since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, and many of the group's leaders and fighters are believed to have taken refuge in Afghanistan.
