Blast near mosque in southern Pakistan kills, wounds 24

At least four people were killed and 20 others wounded in a blast near a mosque in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Friday, said officials. A senior police official, DIG south Khaliq Sheikh, in a statement, confirmed the death toll and said that the blast was carried out through a bomb planted on a motorcycle. Provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Memon also confirmed the attack and said that four people had died in the explosion. He further said that three government vehicles were damaged in the attack and that these vehicles were the apparent targets of the blast. The blast shattered the windows of several nearby buildings, damaged motorcycles and other vehicles parked nearby. The blast occurred at a time when large numbers of people were leaving the mosque after Friday prayers. The security forces immediately cordoned off the area and a probe into the incident went underway. The dead and injured were shifted to the nearby hospital where the condition of a few injured is reported critical. There had been an escalation in violent incidents after outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced it would no longer honour the ceasefire with the government