KARACHI, Dec 21: Police defused an improvised explosive device weighing around 11 kilos in Lyari on Friday.

Concealed in a cement block, the IED had been placed near Cheel Chowk in the Kalakot area, police said.

They added that it was spotted by Rangers personnel who noticed a few wires connected with the cement block at around 8:15am. Subsequently, the bomb disposal unit (BDU) of police was called and the area was cordoned off.

An official of the BDU said that the total weight of the IED was around 11 kg.

“The explosive was laced with ball bearings, nuts, blots and pieces of shaving blades,” he said. The ball bearings were arranged in away that they would have gone in one direction in case of explosion, the official said.

The IED was attached to a detonator, seven batteries and with a remote-controlled device.

The bomb disposal unit official explained that multiple batteries were meant to keep the IED active for a long period of time.A similar IED attached to nine batteries was found a few months back in North Nazimabad, he added.

Commenting on a possible target of the IED, Lyari SP Sarfraz Nawaz said: “While a Rangers van is often parked near the place where the IED was planted, nothing can be said for sure. The motive could also be causing fear and chaos in the area,” he said.