Breaking: <,b>Pakistan Police Defuse Huge Bomb Near U.S. Consulate in Southern City~~Mar 15, 2004
The Associated Press
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - Explosive experts defused a bomb Monday in a small van parked next to the heavily guarded U.S. Consulate in this southern Pakistani city, police said.
Security guards at the consulate informed police about the van, which was parked close to a perimeter wall of the building, said Mohammed Irfan, a Karachi police official.
Police found a water tank in the van that was filled with explosives. The experts disconnected a timer and detonators attached to the tank, Irfan said.
"We saved this place from big destruction," he said.
The tank held about 200 gallons of a liquid explosive, and police were investigating to determine the type of material, he said.
Hundreds of police officers and paramilitary troops cordoned off the area around the consulate in an upscale neighborhood of Karachi. The consulate was closed at the time.
In June 2002, a suicide bomber blew up a truck outside the consulate, killing 14 Pakistanis. The attack came a month after another suicide attack outside a hotel that killed 11 French engineers. Islamic militants were blamed in the two attacks.
AP-ES-03-15-04 0036EST
This story can be found at: ap.tbo.com |
