Grenade Attack In Southern Pakistan Killed 12 People Overnight

KARACHI, Pakistan — On Sunday, the death toll from an overnight grenade attack in Karachi on a truck transporting women and children had risen to 12.

On Saturday evening, while the vehicle was transporting an extended family from a wedding celebration in a western Karachi area, attackers struck it, killing nine people and injuring nine more.

Three of the injured died during treatment, according to Dr. Qarar Abbasi of the city’s major Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, bringing the total death toll to 12. The remainder of the injured were in good shape. Seven women and five children, he claimed, were among the victims.

Investigators recovered fragments of a Russian-made hand grenade near Mawach Goth, according to Raja Umar Khitab, a counterterrorism officer. He informed a local news station that information gathered indicated that the perpetrators were pursuing the truck and hurled the grenade into the truck, which was filled with women and children.

When the incident happened, more than 20 women and small children from an extended family were traveling in the vehicle, coming from a wedding ceremony, according to Javed Akbar Riaz, a senior police officer.

No one has claimed credit for the incident as of yet. The bombing’s motivation remained unknown, however, authorities quickly ruled out sectarian conflict.

Following the event, Karachi police chief Imran Yaqub Minhas described it as an “act of terrorism” on the country’s Independence Day, which was commemorated on Saturday.

Terrorists ambushed a security patrol in the restive southwestern Baluchistan province, prompting a gunfight that left three militants and a soldier dead near Shahrig in the Loralai district, as part of the country’s Independence Day celebrations.

The military stated in a short statement that terrorists opened fire on a security vehicle, resulting in an exchange of gunfire and that two troops were wounded as a result of the engagement.

Although no one claimed credit for that incident, Baluch separatist organizations have claimed responsibility for similar attacks in prior years.

Baluchistan has been the target of several terrorist attacks and a long-running insurgency by organizations seeking independence for the mineral- and gas-rich region on the Iran-Afghanistan border. There is also a presence of the Pakistani Taliban in the area.