UPDATE - 3 suicide attackers target Pakistan courthouse

UPDATES WITH AFGHAN FOREIGN MINISTRY'S CONDEMNATION AND DEATH TOLL INCREASE

By Aamir Latif and Shadi Khan Saif

KARACHI, Pakistan / KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - A bomb and gun attack on a courthouse in northwest Pakistan killed at least seven people and left more than 20 wounded Tuesday, police said.

Three attackers hurled grenades at police outside the court in Tangi, a town in Charsadda district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, before opening fire with assault rifles.

Charsadda police chief Sohail Khalid said three suicide bombers had tried to storm the court at around 11.15 a.m. local time (0615GMT). One was shot dead at the entrance but two others got into the building and opened fire.

One terrorist detonated a bomb-vest as the third continued shooting, Khalid said. The final attacker was killed by security forces around 15 minutes after entering the building.

“The situation is under control now,” Khalid added. “The rescue operation has been completed, and all the dead and injured have been shifted to the hospital.” The wounded include four police officers.

Dozens of people, including judges and lawyers, were at the court when the attack happened, Ibrahim Tangi, the president of District Bar Association, who was present, told local broadcaster ARY News.

Police said seven were killed in the attack, not including the terrorists, and 20 injured.

Jamat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter faction of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack in a message to local media.

Afghanistan has condemned the attack in a statement, saying "the terrorists have once again proved their enmity towards the human and Islamic values".

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs also underlined the need for regional and global consensus against terrorism.

"The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan once again stresses upon effective campaign against these criminal groups, practical steps and cooperation among the countries of the region and the world," it said.

More than 100 people have been killed in 10 days of terrorism across Pakistan. A suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine in southern Sindh province last week killed 90 people.

In March last year, at least 16 were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a court building in Shabqadar, Charsadda. Two months earlier, gunmen had stormed Bacha Khan University in Charsadda and killed more than 20 students and teachers.