A powerful cylinder explosion shook the Judicial Complex in Pakistan's capital Islamabad's G-11 sector on Tuesday. According to Pakistani media reports, twelve people were killed and several others suatined injuries in the incident which prompted an immediate response from the city's emergency services. According to local police, the explosion occurred at a time when there was heavy traffic and a large crowd in the court area. Several lawyers and civilians were injured in the blast, they added.
Reports said Police and rescue teams reached the site and the entire area has been cordoned off to ensure public safety. Firefighters were seen battling flames that erupted soon after the blast.
Explosion originated from parked car
Initial investigations suggest that the explosion occurred inside a car parked in the courthouse parking area. The vehicle caught fire following the cylinder blast, sending thick smoke billowing across the premises. Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as security personnel rushed to evacuate the nearby section of the Judicial Complex, as per reports.
16 security personnel injured in IED blast
In an another incident, at least 16 personnel were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast that targeted a security forces’ convoy in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, an official said on Tuesday. The convoy comprising Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps personnel was returning from Loni Post in Dera Ismail Khan district when the IED blast occurred in Loni village late on Monday.
Meanwhile, six people were injured on Monday after a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the main gate of a Cadet College in the south Waziristan district, bordering Afghanistan, security officials said, as per PTI. According to security officials, the attack at the Cadet College Wana was reportedly carried out by the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Surge in terrorist attacks in Pakistan
The Pakistan government last year notified the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as "Fitna al-Khawarij", a reference to a group in earlier Islamic history which was involved in violence. Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks, particularly in areas bordering Afghanistan, mostly targeting police, law enforcement personnel, and security forces Separately, security forces killed at least 20 Taliban militants in two separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the army said.
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