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Blasts cause chaos in Karachi
07/07/2008 21:08 - (SA)
Karachi - One person was killed and 37 others injured on Monday in a string of six bombings in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi, raising tensions a day after a major suicide attack in the capital.
The Karachi explosions came in the wake of a suicide bombing that killed 19 people near a rally in Islamabad to mark the first anniversary of the bloody storming of the radical Red Mosque in the capital.
Pakistan's new government is facing growing unrest just five months after defeating US-backed President Pervez Musharraf's allies in elections, with Islamist violence on the rise and political divisions growing.
"One person was killed and at least 30 injured in a series of low intensity bomb blasts in the Pashtun-dominated areas in Karachi," police officer Mohammad Saqlain said.
37 hurt
Hospital official Liaqat Memon later said a total of 37 people were hurt.
Musharraf condemned the blasts, saying the "despicable acts of terrorism were a conspiracy against the country and the people," the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but police said the blasts appeared to be small.
"Apparently the purpose was to create panic in the city. There is also a possibility that these people who planted the bombs wanted to fan ethnic tensions," provincial police chief Babar Khattak said.
One of the blasts happened near a school, injuring several children. Another completely destroyed a car, leaving half a charred chassis and two wheels.
"It bewildered us all and we saw two of our friends injured. The blast sent concrete flying which damaged some motorcycles," labourer Ali Shah told AFP after another of the blasts in the city's Banaras Chowk area.
Tension gripped several neighbourhoods affected by the bombs, with mobs pelting cars with stones, burning tyres and chanting anti-government slogans, an AFP reporter said.
War on terror
Karachi has seen a number of attacks blamed on various Islamic militant and political groups since Pakistan joined the US-led "war on terror" in 2001.
Ethnic tensions are also high between Pashtuns originally hailing from the northwestern frontier region with Afghanistan and other groups.
Pakistan is battling a resurgence in violence after a brief lull that was brought about by the government's negotiations with Taliban militants in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, which it launched after coming to power.
In Sunday's blast in Islamabad, a bomber blew himself up in a crowd of policemen deployed to provide security for an Islamist rally commemorating more than 100 people killed in the siege and storming of the Red Mosque.
Investigators on Monday discovered the head of the suspected bomber on a rooftop as they made fingertip searches of the scene, security officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but officials said they were examining a range of possible culprits, including the mosque's former students and Pakistani Taliban.
- AFP
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