Bomb strapped to motorcycle defused

The explosive mechanism was new to Karachi and was normally seen in Balochistan.

KARACHI:

A tragedy was averted when a bomb disposal squad (BDS) managed to defuse an improvised explosive device (IED) before it could cause any damage on Friday evening in the city's outskirts.

The IED, planted on a motorcycle, was found when two men fled and abandoned their motorcycle with its engine running near Khuda ki Basti within the limits of Surjani police station. "Policemen were engaged in routine snap-checks when the two men, on seeing them, left their motorcycle running and escaped through the 'katcha' area," said Surjani SHO Bashir Waddo. Waddo added that the police, suspecting that something was wrong, left the motorcycle untouched and immediately called the BDS to the site.

The area was cordoned off, with no one being allowed to enter a 300-metre range around the motorcycle, as the police awaited the bomb disposal experts. On arrival, the BDS confirmed the presence of explosive material attached to the motorcycle.

The experts were surprised at discovering a new method used to make the bomb and to attach it to the vehicle. They said that the bomb, weighing around five kilogrammes, included a kilogramme of dynamite, which is not normally used in such incidents. "Apart from dynamite, it also contained spare parts from a motorcycle engine," a member of the BDS explained.

The bomb disposal expert further said that such bombs were usually used in Balochistan. "If the motorcycle engine had been switched off, the bomb would have exploded," he said. "This sort of explosion mechanism is never used in militant activities in Karachi."

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2014.