At least six people injured in Karachi explosion

Bomb blast carried out to spread panic, fear in city, suspects CTD

KARACHI:

A bomb blast in Karachi’s Shireen Jinnah Colony injured six people on Tuesday. The explosive device was fitted in a motorcycle parked outside a tyre shop near the bus terminal.

The injured were shifted to the nearby hospital where two are stated to be in critical condition. It was carried out to spread fear and panic among citizens, suspects the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

According to an eyewitness, speaking to The Express Tribune, screams and smoke filled the air when the blast occurred. Another eyewitness claimed that the motorcycle was left outside the tyre shop by a suspected terrorist.

CTD In-charge Raja Umar Khattab said that the bomb weighed around one kilogramme and was fitted in the seat of the vehicle. It was locally made and contained ball bearings, he said, adding that the last time such a bomb was used was when he was attacked.

According to Khattab, it is not yet clear what or who the terrorists were targeting. He expressed suspicions that only common citizens were targeted by the attack to spread fear in the city.

Two pedestrians and four passengers in a bus parked at the terminal were severely injured because of the ball bearings in the bomb, said Khattab, adding that the condition of two of the injured is stated to be critical while the others are now stable.

Khattab was attacked in 2008 when a remote controlled homemade bomb, rigged to a bicycle, targeted him near his residence. And then again, in 2015 when a bomb planted in a parked motorcycle hit a police bus, killing two commandos and injuring 17 others. Banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had claimed responsibility for the second attack, which was carried out using a homemade explosive device.