'Bomb was set to destroy US consulate'

Explosive experts today defused a bomb in a small van parked next to the heavily guarded US Consulate in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, sparing the building from “big destruction”, police said.

It was not immediately clear who planted the device, though Islamic extremist groups have repeatedly targeted Westerners and minority Christians since the government threw its support behind the US-led war on terrorism.