KARACHI, May 2: At least nine people were injured when a bomb ripped through ablution area of a mosque adjacent to an election office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement off the Burns Road here on Thursday evening, officials and witnesses said.

Police confirmed that a bomb had been planted in the narrow lane near the Fresco Chowk on the busy road.

The office is at the end of the closed street and the MQM’s colours and its election symbol ‘kite’ is painted on its walls. It is the party’s main office of its candidates for NA-250, PS-112 and PS-113 constituencies. Eyewitnesses said they heard a massive blast at about 9.15pm, when the area was brimming with people sitting at the various eateries and food stalls.

“The blast was so strong that the ground seemed to shake. I was having food nearby and rushed to the scene of the explosion and saw the injured people,” said Abdul Wahid, who lives in a nearby building.

Senior Superintendent of Police Nasir Aftab said that officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad were examining explosives used in the bomb. He put the number of wounded at five but the hospital staff said they had treated nine people.

The blast damaged a wall of the mosque and one could see splinter marks on the nearby buildings and shops. Pieces of ball bearings were strewn in the street.