To: AmericanVoter who wrote (1631 ) 5/2/2002 10:53:55 AM From: lorne Respond to of 2279 to amein the muslim. Two Bombs Explode in Karachi Killing Boy, Wounding Six Other People By Afzal Nadeem Associated Press Writer Published: May 2, 2002 KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - Two bombs exploded Thursday, killing a 12-year-old boy and wounding six members of his family, in the second straight day of bombing attacks in this restive port city, police said. During the night groups of masked men stopped at least 12 vehicles, including five passenger buses, ordered everyone outside and set the vehicles on fire, police said. Soldiers and paramilitary troops patrolled the major streets of Karachi. Traffic was light. No one claimed responsibility for the explosions, which police described as aimed at creating terror in the city where the ethnic based Muttahida Qami Movement, or the United National Movement, had called a one-day strike Thursday to protest the killings of its two prominent members last week. Nasreen Jalil, a leader of the movement, said that 250 members of the group were arrested in early morning raids. Thursday's blasts apparently were unrelated to Gen. Pervez Musharraf's landslide victory in a disputed referendum which assured him of five more years as president. But the explosions underlined the challenges facing Musharraf as he tries to curb violence and extremism in the poor South Asian Islamic nation. On Wednesday, at least 18 people were wounded, some of them critically, as two bombs went off within 10 minutes of each other in a different section of the city, police said. The first bomb Thursday exploded about 3 a.m. in the low income Lines Area neighborhood. The boy who was killed and his family were Afghans, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ali Raza said. The bomb was placed outside their home while they were asleep, he said. There were no immediate details about the type of the bomb. The second bomb exploded about two hours later in a market of the affluent Defense Housing Authority neighborhood, damaging two cars and several shops but causing no casualties, police said. The market was closed at the time. The Muttahida Qami Movement speaks for the political and economic rights of Muslims and their descendants who migrated to Pakistan at partition of the subcontinent in 1947. Police blame the party for most of the bloodletting in Karachi, including the killing of its political rivals. The movement denies the charge and accuses the authorities of targeting its members and supporters. Police also reject the movement's allegation. ap.tbo.com