Pakistan militants kill 13 in attacks on court and Christians

Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claims bombing of district court in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and targeting of Christian colony near Peshawar.

Security officials inspect the site of a suicide bomb attack at a district court in Mardan, Pakistan. A Majeed / AFP

PESHAWAR // At least 13 people were killed and more than 50 injured in two attacks in north-western Pakistan claimed by a splinter group of the Taliban.

Most of the casualties were from a suicide bombing at a district court in the town of Mardan that killed 12 people and wounded 54 others. Hours earlier, gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed a Christian colony near the town of Peshawar, killing one civilian.

Both attacks were claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistan Taliban.

Police and the military said militants stormed the Christian neighbourhood early on Friday morning, triggering a shoot-out in which four attackers were killed and one Christian died. Three security officials and two civilian guards were wounded.

Army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said the attack was quickly repulsed and that security forces were searching for any accomplices.

Local police official Shaukat Khan said four suicide bombers entered the Christian colony. One of them went into a church, but no one was there at the time. He said the attackers killed one Christian in the neighbourhood. It was not immediately clear if any of the suicide bombers detonated their explosives.

The quick response from the local civilian guards and security forces prevented more deaths, Mr Khan said.

In the town of Mardan, about 40 kilometres from Peshawar, a suicide bomber threw a grenade at the district court before detonating his explosives.

A rescue official said lawyers, policemen and passers-by were among the victims, with some of the wounded in a critical condition.

Police official Ijaz Ahmed Khan said the attacker apparently wanted to target a gathering of lawyers at the bar room but was thwarted by police.

Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, said the group was responsible for the attack on the Christian colony and the court, and promised more attacks in a statement sent to Reuters.

“We appeal to civilians to remain away from law enforcement installations and these un-Islamic courts. We will target them more,” he said.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and ISIL issued competing claims of responsibility for a bomb blast last month targeting lawyers and journalists gathering outside a hospital in the city of Quetta that killed about 70 people.

Pakistan has been struck by a number of large-scale militant attacks in recent months, including a March suicide bombing targeting Christians celebrating Easter in a park in the city of Lahore that killed about 70 people. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the bombing and warned of further attacks.

Christians are a tiny minority in majority Muslim Pakistan. While some live in Muslim areas, many choose to live in Christian-only neighbourhoods.

* Associated Press with additional reporting from Reuters