Eight killed in car bomb blast

Islamabad: A massive suicide car bomb attack yesterday in Pakistan's violence-plagued port city of Karachi, targeting the house of a senior police officer, killed eight people including six policemen and two civilians, police said.

The bomber rammed his explosive-laden double cabin vehicle into the gate of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Chaudhry Aslam's house located in the seaside Defence Housing Authority area, a high security zone, said provincial police chief Wajid Ali Durrani.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) reportedly claimed responsibility for the blast. Aslam, head of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), survived unhurt but some family members received minor injuries.

Nearby buildings and vehicles in the area were severely damaged by the explosion in which, according to Durrani, more than 300 kilograms of explosive was used.

The six policemen killed in the attack were assigned to guard the officer and his home. The two civilian victims were a teacher and her five-year-old son, who were on their way to a school in the area.

Aslam, speaking to media representatives outside his battered home, said he had been receiving threats from the TTP because of his investigation focusing on militant cells in the biggest Pakistani city, which has an 18-million population with its port being an entrance for Nato supplies going to Afghanistan by land.

The officer said he was woken by the explosion, adding his family members were safe but shaken.

‘Cowardly act'

"This cowardly act of the Taliban has not scared me," he said, vowing he would continue his anti-militant task with greater zeal and resolve. "I will teach them a lesson that their generations will remember," he said.

Local and foreign media quoted TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan as saying by phone from his secret location that Aslam and several other police officers were on their hit list.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani denounced the attack and expressed anguish over the loss of lives. In separate statements they asserted that such "cowardly acts" would not deter the government from continuing its campaign to root out terrorism and militancy.

The provincial government in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, said it would pay compensation to the bereaved families.

The blast shattered a relative calm in Karachi following a new crackdown on criminals launched by paramilitary Rangers and police late last month.