1 killed, 13 injured in Karachi blast, second in as many weeks

KATHMANDU: MAY. 13 – One person died and 13 were left injured in a blast inside a market area in Pakistan’s Karachi on late Thursday night, according to local media reports. The explosion occurred in the commercial locality of Saddar.

Many of the injured people are in critical condition and “most of them got wounded after being hit by ball bearings from explosive materials”, reported Xinhua quoting the medical superintendent of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC).

Several cars around the site got damaged and windows of the nearby building were shattered, reported news agencies citing Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Sharjeel Kharal. The senior police official informed that two government employees were among the injured.

Explosive material was planted in the carrier of the bicycle which was detonated using a time device, according to the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS).

“The bomb was made locally and about 2 to 2.5-kilograms of explosive material was used in it,” ANI quoted BDS as saying.

The explosion took place two weeks after a suicide bombing at the University of Karachi’s Confucius Institute in the Pakistani port city killed four people, including three Chinese nationals.

The suicide attack was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group from the southwestern province of Balochistan, and was carried out by BLA’s first woman suicide bomber.

(With inputs from agencies)

-Hindustan Times