A powerful bomb blast in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi targeted a convoy transporting Chinese nationals late on Sunday, killing at least 3 foreign nationals people and wounding 17 others.
Police officials confirmed the casualties to local reporters in the attack near the city’s international airport. They stated without elaborating that investigations were underway to determine the nature of the blast and the exact losses it caused.
Television footage showed the explosion entirely or partially destroyed several vehicles.
Pakistan’s mainstream private ARY TV channel reported that “foreigners” were among the dead but did not name their nationalities. Authorities in Karachi, the capital of the Sindh province, did not immediately comment on whether foreign nationals were among the dead.
The Baloch Liberation Army took responsibility for the attack. It asserted in a statement sent to journalists that a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into a convoy of “Chinese engineers and investors” departing the Karachi airport.
The insurgent group claims it is fighting for Balochistan’s independence and denounces China’s infrastructure investments in the natural resources-rich province, which houses the Chinese-operated deep-water strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. BLA accuses Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the region’s resources.
Sunday’s bombing came as Pakistan prepares to host a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on October 15-16. Officials have said that Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang is scheduled to visit Islamabad for bilateral talks before the gathering.
