Pakistan: Suicide Bombers Kill 5 in Attack on Courthouse

5 people lost their lives and 20 were wounded in a suicide attack on a courthouse on Tuesday in Charsadda, local police said, reports Reuters, as carried by Patria.

Police claim all 3 attackers carried hand grenades and AK-47 rifles.

One of the attackers detonated himself in front of the courthouse, while the remaining two were killed by police before they could enter the building.

A spokesman for Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a group of Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent electronically to media.

This militant group last week released a video announcing a new campaign of attacks against the government, including the judiciary, police and military.

A series of bomb attacks last week in which more than 100 people lost their lives dashed hopes that the worst of militant group violence in Pakistan was over.

The attack that caused the highest number of casualties recently targeted a Sufi holy site in the southern province of Sindh, for which ISIL claimed responsibility.

Reuters notes that ISIL has a small but increasingly prominent presence in Pakistan. Its fighters operate in various groups under different names in Pakistan, targeting the government, military and members of religious minorities.