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Serial blasts rock Karachi; 2 dead, 45 wounded

By admin | July 7, 2008

KARACHI: Two persons were killed and 45 others injured as serial bomb blasts rocked Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Monday triggering panic among residents.

The seven “low-intensity” explosions occurred in Banaras Chowk, Orangi town, Shahrah-e-Noor, Paharganj, Qasba mor and Mangho Pir areas, police said.

“There were a series of blasts in Karachi which were of low intensity and have not caused any damage to property,” Karachi police chief Waseem Ahmed said.

Two persons were killed and nearly 45 injured in the blasts, TV channels reported.

Senior police official Athar Rasheed Butt said the blasts occurred in a span of 30 minutes in different areas.

While one occurred in a truck, another exploded in a motorcycle, he said.

“The blast led to panic and big traffic jams on the road as the people were rushing back home,” Butt said.

At least nine people were injured in Banaras Chowk while five people were wounded in a blast in a minibus in Shahrah-e-Noor area.

The explosions came a day after the city hosted the final of the Asia Cup cricket tournament and a bomb blast near Islamabad’s Lal Masjid killed 20 people following a rally by Islamic hardliners.

“It is clearly a conspiracy to create panic and tension among the people. We have put the police ands security agencies on high alert and are trying to control the situation,” Ahmed said.

Doctor Mazhar Ali of the Abbasi Shaheed hospital said that his hospital had received some 25 injured three of whom were children and critically injured.

“We are doing our best to provide immediate medical help to the injured but there is panic spreading as the news of the blasts is coming out,” he said.

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