At least 12 people are understood to have been killed after a car bomb exploded outside a district court in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Security sources told Anadolu that the bodies of 12 victims have been taken to a local hospital, and 27 others were injured during the explosion on Tuesday afternoon local time.
The wounded were taken to the hospital for treatment after the incident in the parking area of the Judicial Complex.
Highlights
- A car bomb exploded outside Islamabad's district court, killing 12 and injuring 27 in a suicide attack targeting a police vehicle.
- Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed the bomber couldn't enter the Judicial Complex, leading to the attack on a police vehicle.
- Security forces thwarted a militant attack on an army cadet college in Wana, killing attackers and rescuing cadets amid ongoing clearance operations.
At least 12 people were killed and 27 others were injured
Image credits: Muhammed Semih Ugurlu/Anadolu via Getty Images
Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber and efforts were underway to identify him, as per Anadolu.
“The suicide bomber targeted a police vehicle as he couldn’t enter the complex,” he told reporters at the scene.
The area has been cordoned off by security forces, and an investigation has been launched. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Islamabad Police have not released a statement on the incident.
In a separate incident, security forces on Tuesday said they thwarted an overnight attempt by militants to take cadets hostage at an army-run college—after a suicide car bomber and five Pakistani Taliban fighters targeted the facility in the country’s northwest.
The attack began late Monday when the bomber tried to breach the gates of a cadet college in Wana, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.
Image credits: Muhammed Semih Ugurlu/Anadolu via Getty Images
The area once served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaida, and other foreign militants.
Police chief Alamgir Mahsud said troops shot dead two attackers early in the clash, while three others entered the compound and were later trapped inside an administrative building, ABC News reported.
Army commandos carried out a clearance operation, and intermittent gunfire continued into Tuesday, he said. Officials said the administrative block is located away from the dormitories that house hundreds of cadets and staff.
The incidents in Pakistan came a day after at least eight people were killed in an explosion near Delhi’s historic Red Fort.
At least eight people were killed in the Delhi explosion on Monday
Image credits: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images
A further 20 people were wounded during the incident in the Indian capital, which happened at a popular tourist spot around 6:52 p.m. local time on Monday.
Police are investigating the incident as a possible terrorist attack, but the investigation is still in the preliminary stage.
“The horrific blast in Delhi last evening has deeply pained everyone. India stands with those who have suffered,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on X.
“I assure everyone that the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy. All those involved will be brought to justice.”