Cracker explosion near Imambargah in North Nazimabad

One policeman was injured by the blast. A congregation was in progress in the Imambargah when the blast took place.

KARACHI: Unknown armed assailants hurled a small improvised explosive device (cracker) from the Naagan roundabout flyover on to a police van parked near the Zainul Abideen Imambargah, in North Nazimabad, Karachi early on Friday morning, Express News reported.

Police said that assailants had hurled the explosive device from the flyover that overlooks the Imambargah. The explosive landed on top of a police armoured van but injured one official.

At the time of the explosion, a congregation was underway at the Imambargah. Firing was also reported immediately after the blast.

Express News correspondent Shah Waliullah reported that the explosion was quite loud and was heard for miles around. He added that after twin blasts outside an Imambargah on Wednesday evening, police and other security services were not letting anyone approach the blast site. A suspicious motorcycle near the blast site was also removed for examination.

Following the blast, police officials temporarily shut the flyover for traffic and had increased security on the bridge.

On Thursday, Karachi suffered a trio of low-intensity blasts which injured 16 people in all. Two of these explosions were in North Nazimabad while the third one was also nearby in North Karachi.