Two cars exploded minutes apart Wednesday outside the American cultural center in the southern city of Karachi, wounding at least seven people, police and witnesses said. A bomb planted in the first car detonated outside the gate of the Pakistan-American Cultural Center, and one injured person was sent to the hospital, said Ghulam Mohammed Dogar, senior superintendent of city police. Minutes later, a second car parked nearby exploded, billowing fire and smoke. Wreckage from the car flew in the air and hit bystanders, and an Associated Press reporter at the scene saw three photographers and three policemen being taken to the hospital in an ambulance. | First bomb draws in the curious, cops and firefighters, second bomb takes them out. |
Firefighters were trying to extinguish the fire. After the first explosion, police sealed off the area as bomb disposal experts arrived to examine the wreckage. The second blast damaged the outer wall of the cultural center, but the building itself was undamaged. The bomb experts were checking a third car parked a few yards from the cultural center. Pakistani students were taking English language classes inside the center at the time of the first explosion. They were asked to stay inside, and there were no immediate reports that any were hurt. The center is close to the residence of the American consul general in Karachi. Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city and its main port, has been a target of bombings and terror attacks in the past. On Tuesday, a package bomb exploded at a checkpoint in the port area, killing two people and wounding five. |