Blast outside Islamabad court kills 12; Pakistan blames Afghanistan & India

ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber killed 12 people outside a court in Islamabad on Tuesday in a sharp escalation of militant violence that the defence minister said had pushed the country into a "state of war".

Pakistani govt ministers accused neighbouring Afghanistan of complicity in the bloodshed - an accusation Kabul denied - and vowed retaliation if Afghan authorities failed to rein in the militants Islamabad says were responsible. "We are in a state of war," said defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif after the attack, the first strike on civilians in Islamabad in a decade. "Bringing this war to Islamabad is a message from Kabul, to which Pakistan has the full power to respond."
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Suicide bomber near court

The bombing outside an Islamabad court also wounded 27 people interior minister Mohsin Naqvi said. The court bomber blew himself up near the entrance at around lunchtime. Images on local media showed people covered in blood lying next to a police van. A vehicle was seen on fire and another car was badly damaged. Police cordoned off the site. Naqvi said the bomber had tried to enter the court building on foot but, unable to find a way in, detonated the device outside, close to a police vehicle. Several of the wounded were in critical condition, a hospital source said.

TTP denies role

No group claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack. The main Pakistani militant group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), denied involvement in the attacks. But a group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, according to The Khorasan Diary, a digital platform in Islamabad that monitors militant activity in the region.

TTP militants have in recent years focused attacks on security forces. Civilians had not been hit in Islamabad for a decade, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a group that tracks attacks.

Pakistan blames Afghanistan's Taliban government

Islamabad says that the Pakistani Taliban and other militants are based in Afghanistan, with the support of India. "We are totally clear that Afghanistan has to stop them. In case of a failure, we have no option but to take care of those terrorists who are attacking our country," Naqvi said, speaking at the scene of the court bombing. The Taliban administration spokesperson in Kabul did not respond to a request for comment on Pakistan's accusations.

School attacked

The court attack happened hours after militants stormed a school near the Afghan border on Monday. The attack on the school in Wana, in the north west, began Monday, when a suicide vehicle rammed the main entrance, killing three people, Naqvi said. Militants then entered the school, which is run by the military but educates civilians.

By Tuesday evening, three militants were still inside the compound, security officials said, with rescue operations under way for the students trapped in another part of the school. Naqvi said that the school assailants were in contact with their handlers in Afghanistan during the attack.
Reuters