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U.S. Consulate in Karachi Targeted by Carbomb
Friday, June 14, 2002
The Associated Press
Reuters
The Cable News Network

American and Pakistani officials have confirmed that many al-Qaida militants have fled across the Afghan border to find shelter among supporters in Pakistan.

A powerful carbomb blast outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan killed at least eleven people and wounded more than 40. Police said the bombing appeared to have been a suicide bombing, similar to the one that killed 14 people in Karachi last month.

U.S. closes diplomatic facilities in Pakistan
The bomb was believed to have been concealed in a white van, which drove up to the consulate at 11:08 Friday morning. The driver crashed the vehicle into a police kiosk at the southern end of the consulate, then into a concrete security barrier meant to stop vehicular traffic from entering the compound.

The resulting explosion destroyed part of the security wall around the consulate, shattered windows several blocks away, and left a large crater in the road. Witnesses said that parts of the vehicle, mixed with human remains were spread over a 200 meter radius.

A police surgeon quoted by the Associated Press, said that ten fatalities had been identified by relatives or colleagues, and that the eleventh body was believed to be the bomber. The victims included four Pakistani police constables, a male passer-by, and four women, police said. Three of the women had just finished a driver's education course and were getting their licenses.

A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Islamabad said that none of the American employees were killed, but that one U.S. Marine security guard and five Pakistani employees suffered minor injuries. The consulate was down to a skeleton staff, after the U.S. withdrew all nonessential personnel due to the threat of possible terrorist attacks.

In the wake of Friday's attack, the U.S. government has temporarily closed its consular and cultural facilities in Pakistan.

* Militants linked to al-Qaida suspected
(More: ICT.org News Source)
2002 © Institute for Counter-Terrorism.

Dan