Karachi: A suspected suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed 12 Shi’ites in Pakistan’s commercial capital on Friday, followed hours later by a blast at a hospital where the wounded were being treated which killed 13.
In scenes that have become familiar in the state’s battle with the Pakistani Taliban, the second blast sent a plume of white smoke above Jinnah Hospital as distraught Pakistanis transported dead relatives.
The bomb, which wounded 100, blew clothes and sandals off bodies near ambulances. A teenage girl wept over what appeared to be a female relative whose stomach was shredded by shrapnel. Provincial Health Minister Saghir Ahmed said 15 people were in critical condition.
“It (the explosion) happened right in the middle of ambulances,” a report said of the second blast.
There were conflicting reports on the causes of the blasts, which some police officials saying it was suicide bombers on motorcycles and others saying the bombs were planted.
Police said they defused a bomb in the premises of the Karachi hospital treating the victims of the blast.
“The bomb was planted in a television set and we successfully defused it,” said senior police officer Ghulam Nabi Memon.
Bureau Report
