Six killed, over 30 injured in Karachi blast

Islamabad, April 27 (IANS) At least six people were killed and over 30 others injured in a bomb blast that targeted an election campaign rally Friday night in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, a media report said.

The explosion took place when a leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), Bashir Jan, was addressing a gathering of political workers, Xinhua reported.

The bomb was planted in a car and detonated with a remote controlled device, police said.

Security forces and rescuers rushed to the site and shifted the injured to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where five of them were reportedly in critical condition.

The blast was so powerful that it destroyed the venue of the gathering and eight vehicles, besides smashing the window panes of nearby buildings.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso condemned the attack.

Local Urdu TV channels reported that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

This was the third bomb attack at a political gathering this week in Karachi as the May 11 general elections draws near.