Policeman dies after Pakistan blast

Two car bombs exploded minutes apart by an English language school near the US consulate in Pakistan’s biggest city today, killing a policeman and wounding 25 other people.

The attack came days after police in Karachi said they had smashed an Islamic militant ring accused in a deadly bombing outside the US consulate two years ago and a failed assassination plot against Pakistan’s president.

No one claimed responsibility for today’s bombings that sowed havoc on a leafy avenue in the city of 15 million people.

The second and far more powerful blast, 25 minutes after the first, hit police and journalists who had gathered at the scene.

The second explosion tore the car in half and hurled huge chunks as far as 50 yards. Wreckage flew in the air and slashed bystanders.

Some stumbled from the scene with minor wounds. Others were stretchered away, bleeding heavily.

Several Pakistani students from the school were reported hurt.

The school, called the Pakistan-American Cultural Centre, is a privately run English-language school and not affiliated to the US government. Its perimeter wall was scarred.

The school is located four houses from the US Consul’s residence, just outside gates manned by guards.

The Consulate itself sits across a park. Neither the Consulate nor the residence were damaged.