Third attack on Navy buses leaves five dead in Karachi

A bomb ripped through a Pakistan Navy bus near Karsaz in Karachi on Thursday, killing four naval personnel and a passing motorcyclist and injuring eight others in the third attack on navy transport this week. The remote-controlled bomb, planted in a manhole by the side of the road, went off as the bus of PNS Mehran carrying Navy officers was passing by, sources said.
Navy personnel Sabir Marwat, Mirza Ramzan, Muhammad Yameen and Imtiaz Naveed, and a passerby Ahmed were killed in the attack. Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for all the attacks on navy buses in Karachi. “Whether it is the navy, army or air force, they are all our enemies. We want to make it clear to the military to prepare for similar attacks in the future,” he told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Traffic came to a standstill for more than three hours after the incident. The intensity of the blast was such that many vehicles collided with each other. Passer-by Asghar Ali, being treated for injuries at the hospital, told AFP: “I was trying to cross the road a few feet away from the bus when I heard an explosion and saw the bus was hit and people inside and around crying.” Karachi Police Special Investigation Unit (SIU) head Raja Umer Khattab told reporters that the bomb was planted and similar to the last two incidents. The SIU released the initial investigation report of all three attacks on the Navy buses.
It said the three blasts were similar and the same type of explosive material had been used. The SIU also released sketches of the suspects. A senior police officer, who wished to remain unnamed, said that this technique of attacks had been used by anti-state, nationalist parties. “Police is also investigating the role of the Balochistan Liberation Army in these attacks,” he said.