A suicide bomber struck outside the gates of a district court in Islamabad on Tuesday, detonating his explosives next to a police car and killing 12 people, Pakistan’s interior minister said.
A suicide bomber struck outside the gates of a district court in Islamabad on Tuesday, detonating his explosives next to a police car and killing 12 people, Pakistan’s interior minister said, the latest in an uptick in violence across the country.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the midday blast, which also wounded at least 27 people, but authorities have struggled over the past months with a resurgent Pakistani Taliban, border tensions, and a fragile ceasefire with neighboring Afghanistan.
Witnesses described scenes of mayhem in the immediate aftermath of the attack. The explosion, heard for miles away, came at a busy time of day when the area outside the court is typically crowded with hundreds of visitors attending court hearings.
The attacker tried to “enter the court premises but, failing to do so, targeted a police vehicle,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told journalists. Earlier reports by Pakistani state-run media and two security officials said a car bomb had caused the explosion.
Naqvi alleged that the attack was “carried out by Indian-backed elements and Afghan Taliban proxies” linked to the Pakistani Taliban. Still, he said authorities are “looking into all aspects” of the explosion.Outside the court
Police quickly cordoned off the area around the court as a cloud of smoke rose into the sky following the blast. The casualties were mostly passersby or those who had arrived for court appointments, according to Islamabad police.
More than a dozen badly wounded people were screaming for help as ambulances rushed to the scene.
“People started running in all directions,” said Mohammad Afzal, who was at the court at the time.
Naqvi said the discovery nearby of a severed head, which the police said belonged to the attacker, confirmed the blast was a suicide attack.
