A suicide bomber apparently carried out by the Pakistani Taliban killed at least 12 people outside a court building in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Tuesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said. The attack wounded at least 27 people.

The bomber tried to enter the court building on foot, but detonated the device outside, close to a police vehicle, after waiting there for 10 to 15 minutes, Naqvi told reporters at the site.

"We are investigating this incident from different angles. It is not just another bombing. It happened right in Islamabad," the minister said.

The blast hit near the entrance of Islamabad district court, which is typically crowded with a large number of litigants.

People covered in blood lay next to a police van, in videos and pictures on local media.

The Pakistani Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying in a statement they had targeted judicial officials. The group is separate from but allied with Afghanistan's Taliban.

"Our fighter attacked the judicial commission in Islamabad. Judges, lawyers and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan's un-Islamic laws were targeted," the group said in a statement, threatening to carry out more attacks"until Islamic Sharia law is implemented" in the Muslim-majority country.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pinned the blame on"terrorist proxies backed by India", the country's long-time foe, without providing evidence.

India was hit by a car explosion Monday, which killed at least eight people.