The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for Saturday's deadly attack that left at least 8 people killed in Islamabad.

"We claim responsibility for the Islamabad suicide attack. It was in retaliation for a drone attack in Orakzai," Taliban commander Hakimullah said on Sunday.

Hakimullah, who uses one name, also warned the government of more attacks if missile strikes by US drones continued in the Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border.

"In Islamabad we have been successful in hitting our target and we will launch more attacks in retaliation for drone attacks," he said.

On Saturday, a suicide bomber struck a small paramilitary camp in an exclusive, heavily protected neighborhood of Islamabad, the country's capital, killing at least eight paramilitary officers.

The bomber tried to enter the camp just after dark, but was confronted and in response, detonated his explosives. Witnesses said a barrage of gunfire followed the late Saturday blast.

Coinciding with this attack, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan [Pakistan's wing of the Taliban] has also claimed responsibility for an attack on a police academy near Lahore on March 30.

The head of the Pakistani militant group, Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility on Saturday for Friday's deadly attack in the civic association's building in a New York district in which 13 people were reportedly killed and at least 26 others wounded.

'Our two companions, one of them of Pakistani origin, took part in Friday's action and killed 14 people,' he said. Mehsud did not identify the second man involved in the shooting.

'I directed my comrades in America to carry out the attack, and they did it successfully. One comrade killed himself after shooting people and another managed to escape,' Mehsud claimed.

The US, however, rejected that Taliban has been behind the shooting rampage.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said Saturday that "based on the evidence, we can firmly discount that claim."

MP/SC/MMN