Pakistan investigates suicide bombing that killed 12 outside an Islamabad court

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan opened a probe Wednesday into the suicide bombing extracurricular an Islamabad territory court that near 12 dormant the time before, underscoring the challenges facing the authorities arsenic it struggles with militant attacks, borderline tensions and a fragile ceasefire with Afghanistan.

The onslaught astatine the court, located connected the borderline of the metropolis and adjacent to a residential area, besides raised alarms that contempt aggregate operations by the information forces to crush the militants, they are inactive susceptible of mounting high-profile bombings successful the Pakistani capital.

Authorities person struggled with a surge successful militant attacks successful caller years but until Tuesday's bombing, Islamabad has mostly been considered a safer place.

Forensic teams and constabulary were combing done debris Wednesday astatine the tract of the blast, which had been sealed to sphere evidence. Across the city, grief-stricken relatives were receiving the bodies of their slain loved ones astatine an Islamabad hospital.

Most of the 27 radical wounded successful the bombing had been released location aft treatment.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi alleged successful the contiguous aftermath of the bombing connected Tuesday that the onslaught was “carried retired by Indian-backed elements and Afghan Taliban proxies” linked to the Pakistani Taliban, though helium said authorities were “looking into each aspects” of the explosion.

He offered nary grounds for his assertion and New Delhi rejected it arsenic baseless.

Naqvi blamed the Pakistani Taliban, known arsenic Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan oregon TTP, for the attack.

The TTP denied engagement portion a breakaway faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed work lone to person 1 of its commanders aboriginal contradict that claim.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar divided from the TTP aft its person was killed successful Afghanistan successful 2022; immoderate members person since rejoined the TTP portion others stay independent, underscoring divisions wrong Pakistan’s militant networks.

The onslaught drew wide condemnation from the planetary community.

The Islamabad bombing came a time aft 4 militants targeted an army-run assemblage for cadets successful the northwestern metropolis of Wana. The constabulary said 4 of the attackers — including a termination car bomber — were killed and much than 600 people, including 525 cadets, were safely rescued during the overnight assault.

A termination bomber had rammed an explosives-laden conveyance into the assemblage gate. Troops rapidly fanned retired crossed the field to forestall the attackers from reaching the buildings wherever cadets and unit had taken shelter.

Footage aired connected Pakistani quality channels Wednesday showed soldiers evacuating cadets utilizing woody ladders and breaking windows to get wrong the dormitories. The evacuees were aboriginal transported to information successful armored vehicles, officials said.

No 1 claimed work for the attack.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the attackers appeared to beryllium attempting a repetition of the 2014 Peshawar schoolhouse massacre — the deadliest battle connected a schoolhouse successful the country — erstwhile a breakaway TTP faction killed 154 people, mostly children, astatine an army-run schoolhouse successful Peshawar.

Tensions betwixt Pakistan and Afghanistan person risen since past month, erstwhile Kabul accused Islamabad of carrying retired drone strikes connected Oct. 9 that killed respective radical successful the Afghan capital.

The strikes sparked cross-border clashes that near dozens of soldiers, civilians, and militants dormant before Qatar brokered a cease-fire connected Oct. 19. Two rounds of follow-up bid talks successful Istanbul ended without advancement aft Kabul refused to supply written assurances that militants would not usage Afghan ungraded to signifier attacks successful Pakistan.

The TTP, which is allied with but abstracted from the Afghan Taliban, has been emboldened since the Taliban returned to powerfulness successful Afghanistan successful 2021. Many TTP fighters are believed to person taken refuge successful Afghanistan and person staged attacks successful Pakistan from crossed the border.

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Associated Press writers Ishtiaq Mahsud successful Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, and Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar successful Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this story