Explosion rocks Karachi

Jan. 14, 2008

KARACHI, Pakistan, Jan. 14 (UPI) — A bomb exploded Monday in a busy area of Karachi, killing at least seven people in Pakistan’s largest city.

The Press Trust of India, quoting police and rescue workers, reported seven people were killed and at least 30 people injured in the blast in the Landhi Industrial Area in the port city’s Qaidabad area.

The city has been the scene of violence recently, the largest being in October when an explosion killed about 130 people along a motorcade to welcome former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto from her exile. Bhutto escaped that blast but was assassinated Dec. 27 in Rawalpindi.

Karachi police was quoted by PTI as saying the bomb in the latest blast was hidden in a motorcycle parked in the area.

Xinhua, quoting a local television channel, also reported seven died in the blast. But another private channel reported nine deaths and that the explosive device was attached to a fruit cart.

The BBC said paramilitary rangers have been on guard in the city for the Muslim holy month of Muharram. The religious observance has led to violence in the past between the Shiites and Sunnis.

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