ISLAMABAD, April 26 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 people including a child were killed and 40 others injured on Friday night in a bomb blast that targeted a political meeting in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, local media and police said.
According to the reports, the bomb exploded near a corner meeting of a political party Awami National Party (ANP) or "People 's National Party" in Mominabad area of Karachi, killing six people on the spot while injuring 45 others including six children.
Police, security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the bodies and injured to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Civil Hospital of the city where five of the wounded succumbed to their injuries.
Hospital sources said that at least 15 of the injured people were in critical condition and had been shifted to the intensive care unit.
Superintendent of police Ch Asad told media that the target of the blast was a leader of ANP "Bashir Jan" who was addressing the gathering of political workers for his election campaign but he remained unhurt in the attack.
According to the police officer, preliminary reports showed that the bomb was fixed in a car and was detonated with a remote control device.
The intensity of the blast was so high that it destroyed the venue of the gathering, eight nearby shops, four vehicles including a car of the political leader besides smashing the window panes of nearby buildings.
Soon after the explosion, the whole area engulfed with darkness as the nearby electricity pole was also destroyed in the blast.
Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and advised the immediate authorities to provide best possible medical facilities to the injured.
Pakistan's incumbent prime minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso ordered the interior minister to provide intensive security to the political leaders and candidates who were running their campaign for the country's next month general election.
ANP's central leader Shahi Sayed condemned the attack and announced the full-day mourning on Saturday across the southern province of Sindh.
"Terrorists are targeting the political workers and leaders to force the government to postpone the May 11 elections but we shall not let anyone to do this. We shall take care in our political gatherings in future," Sayed said.
Local Urdu TV channels reported that the banned militant organization Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Friday night's blast was the third bomb attack on political gatherings by the Pakistani Taliban during this week in Karachi.
Earlier on Tuesday and Thursday, Pakistani Taliban bombed the election campaign offices of another political party Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) or United National Movement and killed 10 people while leaving over two dozen others injured.
Soon after the Pakistani government announced the schedule for the general elections to be held on May 11, Pakistani Taliban asked the masses to keep themselves away from the political gatherings of the three parties Pakistan People's Party (PPP), ANP and MQM, the power shareholders of the country's last government.
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