A suicide bombing outside district court buildings in the Pakistani capital Islamabad killed at least 12 people and wounded 27 on Tuesday, the interior minister said.

The first such attack to hit the city in years sent people fleeing in panic in an area which also houses several government offices.

"A suicide attack was carried out," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told journalists. "So far 12 people have been martyred and around 27 are wounded."

An AFP journalist saw paramilitary troops cordoning off the area where the minister said the assailant detonated the explosives near a police vehicle.

"We are trying to identify who he (the attacker) is and where he came from," Naqvi said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pinning the blame on "

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