Bomb blasts kill 10 in Pakistan

At least 10 people were killed Tuesday in bomb attacks in Pakistan’s south and south-western regions, aid workers and officials said. Most of the killings occurred in the southern port city of Karachi when two planted bombs ripped through the busy Haidri shopping area in the evening rush hours, creating panic. Anwar Kazmi, spokesman of private Edhi ambulance service, said that “eight people were killed and 22 injured” in the blasts. Police said that a remote control device was used to detonate the bombs which were packed with pellets and ball bearings to maximize loss to life and property. Private television said that a number of cars, motorbikes and nearby buildings were damaged in the attacks which were heard several kilometers away. Last month police foiled a bombing attempt in the same area when they uncovered and defused a planted bomb. Separately, a passenger bus bringing Shiite pilgrims from Iran to Quetta, the capital of south-western Baluchistan province, was targeted with a bomb in the Ghanja Durri area of Mastung district. Two people were killed and nine injured in the attack, senior police officer Mehbub Rashid told German press agency (dpa). He said the explosive material was located in another vehicle that was parked on the roadside and exploded as the bus passed by. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban extremists regularly target the Shiite minority as they consider them as heretics. The bombings occurred on the same day as hundreds of Muslims protested in Karachi against an anti-Islam film that had sparked widespread anger in the Muslim world.