KARACHI: A motorcycle rigged with explosives rammed into a bus carrying Shias near the Nursery bridge in Karachi Friday, killing 12 people and wounding close to 50, while a second explosion inside Jinnah Hospital left at least ten people dead and injured another 20.
“Twelve people were martyred and 50 injured in the first blast. There are children and women among the killed and wounded,” Dr. Seemin Jamali, Head of the Emergency Department at Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, said.
An hour after the first attack, a second explosion was heard outside the emergency ward of Jinnah Hospital where the injured were being shifted. The second blast was also caused by an explosives-laden motorcycle in the hospital's parking lot that left at least ten people dead, while 20 others were injured, a bomb disposal official Munir Sheikh said.
The building of the hospital and three ambulances were also damaged by the blast, which took place ten metres away from the main gate.
The attacks, in a city largely isolated from bombings concentrated in northwest Pakistan but with a history of sectarian tensions and political violence, underscored the security challenges facing the country.
The bus attacked in the first explosion was carrying Shia Muslim mourners to participate in a religious procession to mark the end of the holy month of Muharram in Karachi, a city of 16 million people.
“The bus was carrying Shia mourners. It was full of people and a motorcycle rammed into the bus. The motorcycle was completely destroyed and the bus was heavily damaged,” police official Shahid Hasan said.
City police chief Waseem Ahmad told reporters that the motorcycle was rigged with an improvised-explosive device (IED). It remained unclear whether the motorcycle was being driven by anyone when it struck the bus.
The attack happened near the Nursery bridge on the main Shahrah-i-Faisal highway in the centre of Karachi, shattering windows in nearby buildings.
Ambulances raced through the streets as volunteers helped to evacuate the wounded and armed security forces patrolled the area, television footage showed.
Chehlum procession stopped
Following the blasts, the main Chehlum procession was stopped at Empress Market by the bomb disposal unit due to security concerns.
Security has also been tightened across the city with rangers and police officials carrying out snap checks of vehicles.
On December 28, a massive bombing killed 43 people at a parade marking the holiest Shia day of Ashura earlier in the month of Muharram.
Pakistan's feared Taliban network claimed responsibility for that attack, sparking riots that caused huge financial losses.
Security forces were on high alert in Karachi with a wave of political violence killing at least 37 activists from rival parties in the last five days, following 48 similar killings last month.
The Awami National Party (ANP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which have a history of bitter relations, both claim their workers have been shot dead.
The two parties belong to the local governing coalition in southern province Sindh, of which Karachi is the capital, and which is led by President Asif Ali Zardari's main ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
MQM represents Muslims who migrated from India after independence and is Karachi's dominant party. ANP represents an estimated two million Pashtuns who have migrated to Karachi from northwest Pakistan.
Pakistan has seen a recent decline in militant attacks, attributed both to the success of a US drone war and Pakistani offensives in the tribal belt shadowing the Afghan border where Taliban and Al-Qaeda networks are based. —Dawn News/ Agencies
“Twelve people were martyred and 50 injured in the first blast. There are children and women among the killed and wounded,” Dr. Seemin Jamali, Head of the Emergency Department at Jinnah Hospital in Karachi, said.
An hour after the first attack, a second explosion was heard outside the emergency ward of Jinnah Hospital where the injured were being shifted. The second blast was also caused by an explosives-laden motorcycle in the hospital's parking lot that left at least ten people dead, while 20 others were injured, a bomb disposal official Munir Sheikh said.
The building of the hospital and three ambulances were also damaged by the blast, which took place ten metres away from the main gate.
The attacks, in a city largely isolated from bombings concentrated in northwest Pakistan but with a history of sectarian tensions and political violence, underscored the security challenges facing the country.
The bus attacked in the first explosion was carrying Shia Muslim mourners to participate in a religious procession to mark the end of the holy month of Muharram in Karachi, a city of 16 million people.
“The bus was carrying Shia mourners. It was full of people and a motorcycle rammed into the bus. The motorcycle was completely destroyed and the bus was heavily damaged,” police official Shahid Hasan said.
City police chief Waseem Ahmad told reporters that the motorcycle was rigged with an improvised-explosive device (IED). It remained unclear whether the motorcycle was being driven by anyone when it struck the bus.
The attack happened near the Nursery bridge on the main Shahrah-i-Faisal highway in the centre of Karachi, shattering windows in nearby buildings.
Ambulances raced through the streets as volunteers helped to evacuate the wounded and armed security forces patrolled the area, television footage showed.
Chehlum procession stopped
Following the blasts, the main Chehlum procession was stopped at Empress Market by the bomb disposal unit due to security concerns.
Security has also been tightened across the city with rangers and police officials carrying out snap checks of vehicles.
On December 28, a massive bombing killed 43 people at a parade marking the holiest Shia day of Ashura earlier in the month of Muharram.
Pakistan's feared Taliban network claimed responsibility for that attack, sparking riots that caused huge financial losses.
Security forces were on high alert in Karachi with a wave of political violence killing at least 37 activists from rival parties in the last five days, following 48 similar killings last month.
The Awami National Party (ANP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which have a history of bitter relations, both claim their workers have been shot dead.
The two parties belong to the local governing coalition in southern province Sindh, of which Karachi is the capital, and which is led by President Asif Ali Zardari's main ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).
MQM represents Muslims who migrated from India after independence and is Karachi's dominant party. ANP represents an estimated two million Pashtuns who have migrated to Karachi from northwest Pakistan.
Pakistan has seen a recent decline in militant attacks, attributed both to the success of a US drone war and Pakistani offensives in the tribal belt shadowing the Afghan border where Taliban and Al-Qaeda networks are based. —Dawn News/ Agencies
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