Bombs kill 14, wound dozens at Pakistan court

Two bombs killed at least 14 people and wounded 50 outside a court complex in northwest Pakistan on Friday, hours after militants killed two people in a Christian neighbourhood in the same region. Both attacks were claimed by Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a breakaway Pakistani Taliban faction believed to be behind some of the past year’s deadliest attacks, including last month’s bombing of lawyers in the city of Quetta that killed 74 people. Haris Habib, chief rescue officer in the city of Mardan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, said that bodies of policemen, lawyers and other civilians were recovered. The twin attacks in the northwest came one day after Pakistan’s army touted the successes of its fight against myriad armed jihadist groups, though a spokesman acknowledged there was still a long way to go. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said “Friday’s latest bombing would not shatter our unflinching resolve in our war against terrorism. These receding elements are showing frustration by attacking our soft targets. They shall not get space to hide in Pakistan.” Jamaat-ur-Ahrar’s spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, vowed to stage more attacks saying “We appeal to civilians to remain away from law enforcement installations and these un-Islamic courts. We will target them more.” Attack on christian area Earlier in the day, four gunmen wearing suicide-bomb vests attacked a Christian neighbourhood in the Khyber tribal region, killing at least one security guard and a civilian resident. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, claimed responsibility within hours of the attack. The Islamist group also staged the Easter Day attack on Christians in a park in Lahore that killed 72 people including at least 29 children. Security improving- but slowly Just a day before Friday’s attacks, the chief army spokesman briefed the media on the progress of the military’s two-year-old offensive against jihadists in the rugged areas bordering Afghanistan. Lietenant General Asim Bajwa released figures showing that terrorist attacks had fallen from a total of 128 in 2013, with 46 of those suicide attacks, to 74 last year, including 17 suicide attacks. He also said authorities had arrested more than 300 people attempting to set up an IS operation in Pakistan. However, he acknowledged Pakistan still faced a tough fight.