Officials say at least 12 people were killed and 27 injured in a blast outside a court building

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday. The attack left at least 12 people dead and 27 injured, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said.

The incident occurred outside a court building in the G-11 sector of the city. Naqvi said the attacker had planned to enter the court building, but blew himself up near a police van outside the complex after he was unable to gain access.

An investigation has been launched to determine the identity of the attacker.

The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), a jihadist terrorist organization operating primarily along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, has since claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying it was targeting "judges, lawyers, and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan's un-Islamic laws," according to Al Arabiya. The TTP vowed more attacks until Islamic law is fully implemented in the country.

Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has condemned the attack and ordered a thorough investigation into the incident, vowing that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. He also linked the attack to a separate incident in the city of Wana on Monday where a suicide bomber attempted to blow himself up inside a school. Sharif claimed that while both attacks originated from Afghanistan, they were instigated by India.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also linked the blast to Afghanistan. In a post on X, he said the "suicide attack" on the Islamabad District Court is a "wake-up call" that the conflict in the Afghan-Pakistan border region of Blochistan is "a war for all of Pakistan."

"The rulers of Kabul can stop terrorism in Pakistan, but bringing this war all the way to Islamabad is a message from Kabul, to which - praise be to God - Pakistan has the full strength to respond," he said.

(RT.com)