The suicide bombing in Islamabad’s judicial district killed at least 12 and injured more than 20, the deadliest strike in the capital since 2008. A JuA faction claimed responsibility while the wider TTP denied involvement. CCTV shows the attacker attempted to enter the court complex and detonated near a police vehicle. Pakistani leaders blamed cross‑border actors, prompting denials from India and international condemnations.
Suicide Bombing in Islamabad Kills at Least 12 — Deadliest Attack in Capital Since 2008
The suicide bombing in Islamabad’s judicial district killed at least 12 and injured more than 20, the deadliest strike in the capital since 2008. A JuA faction claimed responsibility while the wider TTP denied involvement. CCTV shows the attacker attempted to enter the court complex and detonated near a police vehicle. Pakistani leaders blamed cross‑border actors, prompting denials from India and international condemnations.
03:31 AM, 11/12/2025Security
A suicide bombing in Islamabad on Tuesday killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 20, in the deadliest attack on the Pakistani capital in nearly two decades.
What happened
The explosion occurred in the parking area of the city’s judicial complex, close to the High Court and several senior government offices. Video from the scene showed a car engulfed in gray smoke and orange flames after the blast.
Claims and responsibility
Jamaat‑ul‑Ahrar (JuA), a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility in a statement seen by CNN. The larger TTP publicly distanced itself from the attack through its spokesman, Mohammad Khurasani.
Security footage and eyewitness accounts
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said authorities reviewed CCTV that captured a man loitering near the courts and attempting to enter the building before detonating himself near a police vehicle.
“He was waiting, but when the police car approached that’s when he carried out the attack,” Naqvi told reporters. “Everyone who enters the court is checked by security and since he was unable to do so, he attacked the police car. We have all the CCTV footage.”
Casualties and victims
Officials put the death toll at a minimum of 12 and reported more than 20 injured. Among the wounded was 32‑year‑old PhD student Manzar Abbas, who described dozens of people collapsing after the blast and credited a security guard with helping him reach medical care.
Political and regional fallout
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif accused “Indian terrorist proxies” of backing recent militant incidents, alleging some operations were staged from Afghan soil — a claim India rejected as “baseless and unfounded.”
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described the country as being in a “state of war” and urged that the attack be a wake‑up call for negotiations with Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban’s foreign ministry expressed “deep sorrow and condemnation” for both the Islamabad blast and a separate assault on a cadet college in northwest Pakistan, but did not directly respond to Pakistan’s defence minister.
International response and context
Both China and the United States condemned the bombing. U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker said Washington “stands in solidarity with Pakistan in the struggle against terrorism.”
Observers note a rise in militant violence in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, and Islamabad has repeatedly accused elements in Kabul of sheltering groups that attack Pakistan. The capital’s last comparable strike was the 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing, which killed 54 people.
Ongoing investigations
Authorities said investigations are continuing, including review of CCTV and forensics, and have not released a full list of the dead or the attackers’ motive. The incident came less than a day after militants attacked a cadet college in north‑western Pakistan.
This story has been updated with additional developments.