Latest attacks leave 28 dead across Pakistan

PanARMENIAN.Net - A bomb blast that appeared to be targeting a provincial government minister killed 11 people before dawn Wednesday, Aug 7 at a soccer field in southern Pakistan, the latest in a series of attacks that left 28 people dead across the country, officials said, according to The Associated Press.

The bomb planted next to the field in the city of Karachi was hidden in a motorcycle, said senior police official Razaq Dharejo. The bomb went off near the vehicle of provincial minister Javed Naghori, who was leaving after witnessing a late-night match between local teams in the Lyari neighborhood, said Dharejo. Naghori escaped unharmed.

The blast killed 11 people and wounded 24 others, said provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Memon. Many of the dead and wounded were young boys standing near the soccer field when the bomb exploded.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Karachi is Pakistan’s largest city and has a long history of political, criminal and religious violence.

On Tuesday, police found the bodies of 13 people who were pulled off a convoy of buses in southwest Baluchistan province, shot dead and dumped in a ravine, officials said. A paramilitary soldier was also killed.

The motive for the attack late Monday night in Baluchistan province was unclear since no one claimed responsibility.

The security officials were ambushed in their vehicle at around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer district, said Ajmal Bhatti, the district’s deputy commissioner. They were attacked shortly after leaving Bhatti’s house, where they had been holding a meeting.

The dead included an army colonel, a captain and the district police chief, said Bhatti. Their vehicle plunged into a ravine after it was attacked, and authorities later recovered the bodies.