Pakistani safety officers stand guard after a robust automotive bomb exploded outdoors a district courtroom in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.
Mohammad Yousuf/AP
conceal caption
toggle caption
Mohammad Yousuf/AP
ISLAMABAD — A suicide bomber struck outdoors the gates of a district courtroom in Islamabad on Tuesday, detonating his explosives subsequent to a police automotive and killing 12 individuals, Pakistan’s inside minister stated. The assault was the newest in an uptick of violence throughout the nation.
No group instantly claimed duty for the explosion, which additionally wounded a minimum of 27 individuals, however Pakistan has struggled over the previous months with a resurgent Pakistani Taliban.
The blast, which was heard miles away, got here at a time when the realm is often crowded with lots of of tourists attending courtroom hearings. Earlier stories by Pakistani state-run media and two safety officers stated a automotive bomb had triggered the explosion.
The attacker tried to “enter the court premises but, failing to do so, targeted a police vehicle,” Inside Minister Mohsin Naqvi instructed reporters.
He avoided blaming any militant group however added that authorities are “looking into all aspects” of the assault. Naqvi stated police investigators additionally confirmed the blast was attributable to a suicide bomber.
In line with media stories, the casualties had been principally passersby or those that had arrived for courtroom appointments. Islamabad police didn’t instantly concern statements in regards to the assault however stated they had been nonetheless investigating.
In a single day assault at an army-run faculty
In an earlier growth, Pakistani safety forces stated they foiled an try by militants to take cadets hostage at an army-run faculty in a single day, when a suicide automotive bomber and 5 different attackers focused the ability in a northwestern province.
The authorities blamed the Pakistani Taliban, which is separate from however allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, however the group denied involvement in that assault on Monday night.
The assault began when a bomber tried to storm the cadet faculty in Wana, a metropolis in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province close to the Afghan border. The realm had till current years served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban, al-Qaida and different overseas militants.
In line with Alamgir Mahsud, the native police chief, two of the militants had been rapidly killed by troops whereas three militants managed to enter the compound earlier than being cornered in an administrative block. The military’s commandoes had been among the many forces conducting a clearance operation and an intermittent trade of fireside went on into Tuesday, Mahsud stated.
The executive block is away from the constructing housing lots of of cadets and different workers.
The Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, have change into emboldened for the reason that Taliban seized energy in Kabul in 2021, and lots of the group’s leaders and fighters are believed to have taken refuge in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant assaults lately. The deadliest assault on a faculty occurred in 2014 when Taliban gunmen killed 154 individuals, principally kids, at an army-run faculty in Peshawar. In line with the navy, the assailants needed to repeat Monday what occurred in the course of the 2014 assault in Peshawar.
Peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan stall
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have risen in current months.
Kabul has blamed Islamabad for drone strikes on Oct. 9 that killed a number of individuals within the Afghan capital and vowed retaliation. The following cross-border preventing killed dozens of troopers, civilians and militants earlier than Qatar brokered a ceasefire on Oct. 19, which stays in place.
Since then, two rounds of peace talks have been held in Istanbul — the newest on Thursday — however ended with out settlement after Kabul refused to offer a written assurance that the TTP and different militant teams wouldn’t use Afghan territory towards Pakistan.
An earlier, temporary ceasefire between Pakistan and the TTP, brokered by Kabul in 2022, collapsed later after the group accused Islamabad of violating it.
