TTP Jamatul Ahrar claims responsibility for Shabqadar attack (Update)

The Jamatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has claimed responsibility for the attack on a local court in Charsadda's Shabqadar area on Monday in which eight people were killed.

The Jamatul Ahrar said the attack was carried out to avenge the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, the killer of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer, reports Dawn.

The blast left 14 people injured, while two police personnel were among the dead.

District Police Officer Sohail Khalid informed that that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

The attacker was intercepted by the policemen stationed at the court gate as he was attempting to enter the sessions' court premises.

The cops fired at the attacker, who detonated his explosives with a loud bang.

The casualties were shifted to Shabqadar Hospital.

Some vehicles parked in the vicinity of the blast site caught fire.

Shabqadar tehsil is close to Mohmand tribal region, which is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in the northwest, where Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants were said to have carved out strongholds.