Suicide bomber kills 12 outside court in Pakistan

Pakistani security officials stand guard after a powerful car bomb exploded outside a district court in Islamabad, Pakistan (Mohammad Yousuf/AP)

A suicide bomber has struck outside the gates of a district court in Islamabad, detonating his explosives next to a police car and killing 12 people, Pakistan’s interior minister said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the midday blast, which also wounded at least 27 people, but authorities have struggled over the past months with a resurgent Pakistani Taliban.