Car Bomb Kills 2 at U.S. Consulate Fri Jun 14, 2:02 AM ET KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - A car bomb exploded Friday outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing two people and injuring several others, police said. The blast occurred around 11:15 a.m. (1:15 a.m. EDT) in the sprawling southern port city. Police said the bomb was concealed in a white car. The blast caused substantial damage to the consulate, destroying the guard post. Windows were shattered in both the consulate and the nearby Marriott Hotel, and a number of cars were damaged. Witnesses reported seeing body parts scattered about the scene. At least one of the dead was a Pakistani embassy guard in plainclothes. Rescue teams rushed to the scene, and ambulances were shuttling the injured to nearby hospitals. Police sealed off streets in the area. Violence against foreigners by Islamic militants has increased since Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf threw his support behind the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan ( news - web sites). Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was abducted and murdered in Karachi in January while working on a story about Islamic militants. Suicide bombings — once unheard of here — have occurred twice. Both attacks were believed to have been carried out by al-Qaida. On March 17, a grenade attack at a church in Islamabad's diplomatic enclave killed five people, including two Americans. Last month, 11 French engineers and three others were killed in a suicide attack in front of a Karachi hotel.
<A HREF="http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2002-daily/14-06-2002/main/update.htm#3">Bombing Story Update</A> <i> 8 dead in car bomb attack on US consulate in Karachi: police (Updated at 1240 PST) KARACHI: Eight people were killed in a powerful car bomb attack on the US consulate in the southern port city of Karachi Friday, but no consulate staff were among the casualties, officials said. "It was a car bomb... The blast was so powerful that the vehicle flew from one side of the road to the other side of the road," city police chief Tariq Jamil told. "It appears to be a suicide bomber." Home Secretary of Sindh Province, Mukhtar Sheikh, said it was believed that the bomber was among the dead, but that no consulate staff were hurt in the blast. "No one among the consulate officials or staffers has been killed or injured in the blast," he said. "However, we are still assessing the identity of those killed. According to witnesses, among the dead is a private security guard posted outside the US consulate," he said. A woman was also killed. A police source at the scene told that eight bodies had been found and "numerous" people injured. "Five bodies are intact and have been sent to hospital, and there are three more and the body parts are lying in different places," the source told. "They are at three different places, virtually ripped apart." Jamil also said that an unknown number of police officers on duty outside the building were injured. Police at the scene said the vehicle used in the attack was a small high-roofed Suzuki van which had been travelling along the road which the consulate is situated on. The blast was detonated when it reached the corner of the compound, and the huge explosion that followed destroyed part of the perimeter wall of the consulate, but left the main gate intact. A deep crater was blasted into the road immediately next to the perimeter wall and the vehicle exploded into pieces, some of which were thrown onto the other side of the road and into a park facing the consulate. Shock waves from the car bomb damaged property in a one kilometre (half-mile) radius of the area, blowing out shop windows and car windscreens and leaving shards of glass carpeted on the ground. More than a dozen cars in the immediate vicinity were badly damaged. A spokesman for the US embassy in Islamabad said they were still gathering facts on the incident before making any statement. The US embassy ordered non-essential staff and families to leave Pakistan shortly after a March 17 grenade attack on a church in the diplomatic enclave of Islamabad which left five died, including two Americans. Westerners were targeted again when a car loaded with explosives ploughed into a minibus at the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi, killing 11 French nationals and three Pakistanis. No group has claimed responsibility, but Islamic extremists linked to suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network have been named as suspects. </i> Mango
Does this mean King George II will now declare Jihad on Pakistan? I thought they were our partners in the "War on Terrorism"?
I don't think the Pakistani leader would mind if the U.S. put down these "terrorists". It would secure his position of leadership.
What are they doing to ensure this kind of thing doesn't happen again? Remember what George W. said when all this started... "Yer either widdus or agin us".
come on...clearly this was our fault!! i mean...we're just asking for it, right?? (please note my obvious sarcasm)
I never said it was our fault. It clearly wasn't. I'm asking what is Pakistan, supposedly on "our side" in the "war on terrorism" is doing to make sure that it never happens again? Not a whole heckuva lot, as far as I can tell. That makes them a country that harbors terrorists. Can someone please explain to me why George W. considers them an ally in the "war on terrorism"?
actually, that wasn't directed to you at all...i don't think i read one other post before posting my message...
The thought of deeming Pakistan completely against the US in the "war on terrorism" is scary. We already have a decent military basing operation in that country and supposedly the FBI and other American agencies have signifcantly stepped up their activity in that country. At the same time, US <i>soft targets</i> have been steadily leaving that country. If we examine a scenario that calls Pakistan an enemy (as opposed to ally) in the war on terrorism, all US soft targets will be removed, the FBI will leave, military basing rights will likely be revoked and other US agencies will be under close observation and at risk. What then? Bin laden & Associates will have an open run of Pakistan and the US influence on Musharraf in regards to the potential conflict between India - Pakistan will be gone. Mango
Cause it happens to be next to Afghanistan. Iran sure as hell was not going to help us. But I'm guessing Mango's reasoning is better then mine.
RocketMan Tex, You never gave us your take on a scenario in which the US declares that Pakistan is no longer an ally in the War on Terrorism, but an enemy as your post implies. Here are two solid articles related to the Pakistani situation that you are interested in. <A HREF="http://www.latimes.com/la-000042372jun16.story">Al Qaeda Gathering Strength in Pakistan</A> <A HREF="http://www.saag.org/papers5/paper478.html">MUSHARRAF OR WORSE?</A> Mango
