Judge, 10 others killed in Islamabad terrorist attack

Gunmen and suicide bombers burst into a court in a busy shopping area in the heart of Pakistan's capital Islamabad yesterday, killing at least 11 people including the judge and leaving 30 or more wounded.

The Taliban, who have declared a month-long ceasefire to pursue peace talks with the government, immediately distanced themselves from the attack as well as a separate blast on the Afghan border which killed two soldiers. Nonetheless, the attack puts a question mark on the progress of the talks.

An explosion reverberated in central Islamabad just after 9 am, followed by bursts of gunfire. Police said at least 30 were wounded. A judge was among those killed.

"There was a blast, and then there was a lot of gunfire. Gunmen were spraying bullets at everyone," Faisal Ali, a businessman who witnessed the attack, told Reuters.

Even as the Taliban declares willingness to talk peace, almost daily attacks have continued around Pakistan in past weeks, showing that the central Taliban leadership is not entirely in control of its operations. However, bomb attacks are rare in the leafy, hilly, and heavily guarded capital.

"We have already declared a ceasefire for a month and we stand by our promise," a Taliban spokesman said.

The judge, Rafaqat Awan, was killed on the spot. He had rejected a petition last year to file a murder case against former President Pervez Musharraf over his order to storm a hardline mosque in Islamabad in 2007.

Many radical Islamists hold a grudge against Musharraf over the storming in which more than 100 people were killed, and any official seen as obstructing their fight for justice is likely to be on their hit list.

During Monday's attack, two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the courtroom where a hearing had just started, police said.

Two other attackers were killed in the ensuing gun fight with police, who said gunmen fired at random targets in the area after the initial explosion.

Shortly afterwards, police blocked entry and exit points to the area, a maze of narrow, dusty streets lined with one-room shops and offices.

Commandos in camouflage knocked on doors and secured street corners as they combed the area for more militants. Police secured the area an hour later and the market resumed normal operations.

At the court, broken glass and charred human remains littered the site of the blast at the F8 market area as residents and police rushed around in bloodstained clothes.

"There is one policeman among the dead," local police station head constable Mohammad Yousaf told Reuters. "We also have unconfirmed reports that two lawyers have died."

The Taliban, a fragmented group consisting of dozens of smaller bands of militants, said at the weekend they would observe a one-month ceasefire to try to revive peace talks and called on all groups to observe it.

Talks broke down last month after a series of attacks and counter-attacks by the army and insurgents.

Observers say striking a deal with the central leadership would not stop the violence because many fridge militant groups operate independently from the central Taliban command.

The Pakistani Taliban, who are fighting to bring down the Pakistani state, are allied with, but separate from, the Afghan Taliban. The Afghan Taliban are fighting to expel foreign forces from their country and do not fight Pakistani security forces.