Islamabad: A suicide bombing outside the district court complex in a residential area of Pakistan’s capital on Tuesday killed 12 people and injured 27, officials said.

“At 12:39 pm (0739 GMT), a suicide attack was carried out at the Kachehri (district courts)… so far 12 people have been martyred and around 27 are wounded,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters at the scene.

The cause of the explosion remains unclear. Preliminary reports in local media suggested that a gas cylinder might have exploded inside a vehicle parked near the court, though police have not confirmed this version.

Authorities said investigations were underway to determine the exact cause. The blast occurred outside a busy court complex regularly frequented by lawyers, litigants and visitors. Security forces quickly cordoned off the area as rescue teams rushed the injured to nearby hospitals.

The incident comes a day after a similar car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort in India, which killed at least 13 people. Officials in both countries are investigating the incidents independently, and there is no immediate indication of any link between the two attacks.