ISLAMABAD: A suicide bombing outside district court buildings in the Pakistani capital Islamabad killed at least 12 people and wounded 27 on Tuesday, the interior minister said.
The first such attack to hit the city in years sent people fleeing in panic, leaving shattered glass and charred vehicles on the road.
“A suicide attack was carried out,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told journalists. “So far, 12 people have been martyred and around 27 are wounded.”
The Pakistani Taliban militant group claimed the attack, saying in a statement that they had targeted judicial officials.
“Our fighter attacked the judicial commission in Islamabad. Judges, lawyers and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan’s un-Islamic laws were targeted,” the group said in a statement, threatening to carry out more attacks “until Islamic Sharia law is implemented” in the Muslim-majority country.
The blast occurred near the entrance of the Islamabad district court, which is typically crowded with litigants.
The bomber tried to enter the court building on foot, but detonated the device outside, close to a police vehicle, after waiting there for 10 to 15 minutes, Naqvi told reporters.
“We are investigating this incident from different angles. It is not just another bombing. It happened right in Islamabad,” the minister said.
An AFP journalist saw paramilitary troops cordoning off the area where the minister said the assailant detonated the explosives near a police vehicle.
“We are trying to identify who (the attacker) is and where he came from,” Naqvi said.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/pakistan-islamabad-suicide-bombing-explosion-kills-injures-people-court-building-5459956
