Pakistan: car bomb kills dozens outside mosque, 45 dead, scores wounded
Source: guardian.co.uk
A car bomb exploded outside a mosque in Karachi on Sunday, killing dozens of people and wounding more than 140 in a Shia Muslim dominated neighbourhood.
No one has taken responsibility for the bombing, but Shia Muslims have been increasingly targeted by Sunni militant groups in the city, Pakistan’s economic hub and site of years of political, sectarian and ethnic violence, as well as other parts of the country.
The bomb exploded outside a Shia mosque as people were leaving evening prayers in Pakistan’s largest city. Initial reports suggested the bomb was rigged to a motorcycle, but a top police official Shabbir Sheikh said later that an estimated 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of explosives was planted in a car.
Colonel Pervez Ahmad, an official with a Pakistani paramilitary force called the Rangers, said a chemical used in the blast caught fire and spread the destruction beyond the blast site. Several buildings nearby were engulfed in flames.
Men and women wailed and ambulances rushed to the scene where residents tried to find victims buried in the rubble of collapsed buildings. The blast left a crater that was 2 metres wide and more than 1 metre deep.
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