Bodies were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed hospital in Karachi Tuesday, September 18, 2012. Atleast
Seven killed and Twenty Five injured in this incident. — Photo by PPI

KARACHI: At least seven people, including a three-month-old baby, a 12-year-old girl and a woman, were killed and 22 others injured — the victims predominantly belonging to the Dawoodi Bohra community — when twin blasts rocked a neighbourhood in North Nazimabad on Tuesday evening.

It was perhaps the first such targeted attack against the community to have taken place in the city’s chequered history.

The blasts came a day after the visit of Syedi Mufaddal Bhaisaheb Saifuddin, designated successor of Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin.

A large number of the community’s members from across the country and India are visiting Karachi on the occasion. The explosions took place amid the evening hustle and bustle, said a resident of the area.

“Six of the dead belong to the Dawoodi Bohra community, while the seventh is an ice cream vendor belonging to Rahimyar Khan,” a doctor at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital said. Almost all the victims had suffered pellet injuries.

Nooruddin, 45; Fukhurdin, 55; Umema, 12; an unknown woman; Ismail who died during treatment; ice cream vendor Sajid and three-month-old Shabbir, son of Asghar Ali, were killed. The baby’s body was taken away by his family from the hospital without allowing legal formalities, sources said.

The explosions took place on a road between two apartment buildings -- Qasr-i-Kutbuddin and Burhani Bagh -- in Block C of North Nazimabad, commonly called Bohra Compound. Pellet marks were left on the walls of both the buildings.

“At the time, many people, especially youngsters, were on the street buying eatables from stalls,” Mustafa Hussain, a witness, said. The compound has around 600 apartments.

“I helped pick up four injured people and put them in ambulances,” said Shabbir Husain, who was wearing a bloodstained shirt.

The first blast was huge and the second of a lower intensity, he said.

“The first explosion was of a motorcycle rigged with explosives. A few minutes later, another blast took place beneath a tree in a garbage pile,” Karachi West Investigation SP Noman Siddiqui said.

“The motorcycle carrying about 3.5kg of explosives was detonated by remote control,” an official of the bomb disposal unit said. The second blast was caused by an improvised explosive device containing 500 grams of explosives.

The motorcycle had been snatched on Sept 3 from the Rizvia area, a police official said.

An improvised explosive device (IED) weighing around 25kg had been found at the same place on Aug 13 and defused by police.

All markets in Hyderi and other parts of North Nazimabad were closed after the incident.

Volunteers from the Bohra community took charge of the situation, cordoned off the crime scene and ferried the injured and dead to hospital.

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...