Deadly Suicide Bomb Attack in Pakistan, 12 Killed

A suicide bomber killed at least 12 people and wounded 27 outside a court building in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Tuesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said.

The attack took place hours after a suicide bomber killed three people and militants stormed a military school in the country's northwest.

There was no word yet on who was responsible for either attack.

The court bomber hit near the entrance of one of the lower courts in Islamabad at around lunch time, when the area is typically crowded.

Images on local media showed people covered in blood lying next to a police van. A vehicle was seen on fire and another car was badly damaged. Police cordoned off the site.

Naqvi said the bomber had tried to enter the court building on foot but detonated the device outside, close to a police vehicle, after waiting there for 10 to 15 minutes.

The attacker targeted the police vehicle, he told reporters at the site.

"We are investigating this incident from different angles. It is not just another bombing. It happened right in Islamabad," the minister said. "Whoever is involved, local people or from other countries, they wouldn't be spared."

Several of the wounded were in critical condition, a hospital source said.

Separately, a suicide bomber killed three people when he detonated his car at the entrance to the military school on Monday evening in the northwestern district of South Waziristan near the Afghan border, Naqvi said.

Militants then entered the school. By Tuesday afternoon, three militants were still holed up inside the school compound, where more than 500 students and staff were present, security officials said.

No group had so far claimed responsibility for either of the attacks.