ISLAMABAD (AP) — A suicide bomber struck outside the gates of a district court in Islamabad on Tuesday, detonating his explosives next to a police car and killing 12 people, Pakistan's interior minister said, the latest in an uptick in violence across the country.

Witnesses described scenes of mayhem in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, which also wounded 27 people. The blast was heard for miles away and came at a busy time of day when the area outside the court is typically crowded with hundreds of visitors attending court hearings.

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A breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group, later claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group has staged smaller attacks in the past years but its ability to hit the Pakistani capital is like

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