March 2013 Karachi bombing

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March 2013 Karachi bombing
LocationAbbas Town, Karachi, Pakistan
Date3 March 2013 (2013-03-03)
TargetShi'ite Muslims
Attack type
Car bombings
Deaths48 [1]
Injured200 [2]

The March 2013 Karachi bombing was a terrorist attack that struck a predominantly Shia area inside Abbas Town, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town in Karachi, Pakistan on 3 March 2013. At least 48+ people were killed and more than 180+ others injured after a car bomb was detonated outside a Shia mosque, just as locals were leaving after the evening's services. [3] As rescuers gathered to the scene of the bombings, a second blast caused even more destruction. Authorities suspected the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e Jhangvi of being behind the attacks. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

This was the first major incident within the city since a wave of target killings left more than 300 dead in the summer of 2011.

Arrest of suspects

Sindh police arrested three suspects involved in the blast, Shoaib Mehsud, Khalid Rehman Mehsud and Aurangzaib Mehsud. These are the members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and arrested during the targeted operation in Manghopir on 13 March 2013. [11]

In 2024, Umer Farooq, a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant and one of the prime accused of the attack was killed in an intelligence based operation. The suspect was also involved in the 2023 Karachi police station attack. [12]

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References

  1. Boone, Jon (4 March 2013). "Karachi bomb is unlikely to prompt decisive action against militants". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  2. Boone, Jon (4 March 2013). "Karachi bomb is unlikely to prompt decisive action against militants". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  3. "Bomb at Shi'ite mosque kills 45 in Pakistan". Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  4. Jason Ditz (3 March 2013). "48 Killed in Bombing on Shi'ite Neighborhood in Pakistan's Karachi". Antiwar.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  5. "Pakistan Karachi bomb blast kills at least 25". BBC. 3 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  6. "37 dead, dozens injured in Karachi blast". The News International . 3 March 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
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  8. "Twin explosions rock Karachi". Dawn. 3 March 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  9. "Karachi: 40 dead, dozens hurt in Abbas Town blast". Geo TV. 3 March 2013. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  10. "Pakistan:-48 killed, over 200 injured in Karachi blast". Dunya News. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  11. "Abbas Town suspects: Tehreek-e-Taliban members arrested in Karachi". The Express Tribune. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 15 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  12. Ali, Imtiaz (25 July 2024). "'TTP militant' accused of KPO, Abbas Town attacks shot dead in Karachi". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.