Seven killed, 22 injured in triple blasts in Karachi

, Sep 19: Seven persons were killed and 22 others injured when three improvised explosive devices went off this evening in a densely populated area in the Pakistani financial hub of Karachi with a sizeable Shia population.

The explosions took place near a shopping mall just outside the bustling Hyderi market. The Hyderi area has a sizeable population of Bohra Shias. Seven persons were killed and 22 others injured, security officials told reporters.

A woman and a young girl were among the dead and another girl was seriously injured. The blasts went off near a mosque and a community hall, local residents said. Senior police officials said the Bohra community was the target of the attack.

Senior Superintendent of Police Asim Qaimkhani told PTI that the explosions appeared to have been caused by remote controlled devices fixed in motorcycles in the parking lot of a shopping mall, Dolmen Mall.

"The first explosion was not a major one but the next two explosions were severe and loud and have caused lot of damage," he said, adding police and paramilitary forces have cordoned off the area.

A witness told a TV news channel that the first blast occurred in a garbage dump and second near a car in a parking lot. Officials of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital said they had received six bodies, including that of a young girl.

Injured people were taken to nearby hospitals. No group claimed responsibility for the blasts. The bombs contained several kilograms of explosives and were packed with pellets or ball bearings that caused extensive damage to nearby buildings, police officials said.

The powerful blasts, heard from several kilometres away, blew out the windows of several buildings. Several cars and a motorcycle were damaged by the blasts, which police officials said were caused by IEDs planted in the area.

Footage on television showed several damaged cars and carts.

PTI