A suicide bomber associated with a terrorist group killed 12 people and wounded 27 others on Tuesday in a bustling part of Pakistan‘s capital.
The now-deceased perpetrator detonated explosives next to a police car outside a district court in Islamabad, Pakistan. The area generally attracts many visitors who are attending court hearings.
The attacker’s head was severed from his body in the aftermath of the explosion. Police are working to identify the body.
“We are investigating this incident from different angles,” Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters. “It is not just another bombing. It happened right in Islamabad. Whoever is involved, local people or from other countries, they wouldn’t be spared.”
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack, saying judicial officials were targeted for religious reasons.
“Our fighter attacked the judicial commission in Islamabad,” the terrorist group said in a reported statement. “Judges, lawyers, and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan’s un-Islamic laws were targeted.”
The group threatened to carry out more attacks “until Islamic Sharia law is implemented” in the Muslim-majority country, which operates under a mix of civil and Islamic law.
In a separate attack on Monday evening, a suicide car bomber and five other suspects targeted an army-run college in Wana, Pakistan. The attackers planned to take cadets hostage, but Pakistani security forces foiled their plan. The overnight attack was attributed to the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistani officials blamed groups backed by India and Afghanistan for both attacks.
“Khawarij rebels active on Indian instigation from Afghanistan also attacked innocent children in Wana at this time,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on social media. “It is time for the world to condemn such nefarious conspiracies of India. Both attacks are the worst examples of Indian state terrorism in the region.”
RSF AGREES TO US HUMANITARIAN CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL AS GOVERNMENT DRAGS FEET
Sharif ordered an investigation into the Islamabad attack and vowed to dole out justice to those involved.
Tensions between Pakistan and its neighbors have been particularly strong in recent months. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of harboring the Pakistani Taliban. The two nations have been engaging in now-stalled peace talks after deadly border clashes broke out last month. A short-lived war between India and Pakistan also started in May, until President Donald Trump intervened to broker a ceasefire.