4 People, including 3 Chinese killed in an explosion outside Karachi University

|HT|

At least four people, including three Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver, were killed and several others injured on Tuesday when a car exploded on the premises of the University of Karachi, the Pakistan media reported. Initial reports suggest that the blast took place in a van near Confucius Institute in the university. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said the initial investigation suggests it may have been a suicide bomber. He said closed-circuit television footage from the site showed a person dressed in the female burqa head-to-toe covering walking up to the van, followed by an instantaneous explosion.

The three dead Chinese included the director of the Chinese-built Confucius Institute, which offers Chinese language graduate classes, and two teachers. The fourth fatality was the Pakistani driver of the van, the officials said.

Abdul, Khaliq, a police official, said an investigation was underway. No one has claimed responsibility for the explosion.

The Baluchistan Liberation Army, a militant group in nearby Baluchistan province, has targeted Chinese nationals in attacks in the past. Videos of the van in which the blast took place were also posted on social media with flames of fire completely destroying the vehicle as police and paramilitary rangers reached the scene immediately and cordoned off the areas. Police sources said that there were seven to eight people in the van; however, an exact number of casualties has yet to be reported. The blast took place at 1.52pm (local time) in a van near Confucius Institute — a Chinese language teaching centre — at Karachi University. Following the blast, rescue and security agencies reached the location and cordoned off the areas, initiating rescue operations. Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah directed the counter-terrorism department to immediately reach the site of the incident.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the blast in a telephone call with Shah. The PM assured Shah of the government's full help and cooperation in dealing with such incidents.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)