Thirteen martyred in Karachi twin blasts on Shia dominated area

At least 13 people including women and children were martyred and dozens others sustained injuries after two back-to-back blasts ripped through a thickly Shia populated area at Abbas Town.

According to shiite News Correspondent, the American-Saudi funded terrorists of Taliban and Sipah-e-Sahaba (an ally of PML-N and MQM) used remote-detonated improvised explosive device (IED) strapped to a vehicle at the entrance of Shia populated residential area of Abbas Town while the second one, which is said to be a CNG cylinder blast, struck a few minutes later.

Fire broke out in some of the apartment buildings which rescuers were trying to bring under control without much success.

“We can see smoke billowing from the likely site of the blast. The whole area reeks of detonated explosives”, said sources.

Initially it was reported that a blast has struck Abbas Town area, but as soon as the local residents, rescuers, and law enforcers rushed to the spot another bomb went off.

Police personnel reached the spot and tried to keep the bystanders off the site of the incident where rescue and emergency teams were busy helping the victims.

According to DSP Sachal Qamar Ahmed, the explosive device was planted inside a motorcycle, which the perpetrators parked in populous residential/commercial area.

“There are many teashops and eateries in the area so we fear the casualties might rise”, said police.

Police added that the target of the bombing were the worshipers coming out of a nearby mosque.

The blasts damaged many buildings and dozens of shops, sources said.

“So powerful was the explosion that it blew off the facades of several flats facing the explosion site. Windowpanes of most of the surrounding buildings turned into smithereens. Even some doors came off the hinges”, they added.

Moreover the natural gas leaking profusely from broken the plumbing is also posing a serious threat as people have been warned not to strike matches or smoke in the area, sources warned further.

Its pertaining to mention here that a day before deadly blast on Shia populated area, a delegation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) visited the office of banned Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat (Sipah-e-Sahaba) at Karachi on Saturday late night. The delegation led by Waseem Aftab arrived at Markaz-e-Ahlesunnat Karachi, held talks with on of the top anti-Shia terrorist Aurangzeb Farooqi.