Four killed in Pakistan bomb blast

Four people died and 16 others were injured when a bomb exploded near an Islamic school in Karachi, officials said.

The explosion occurred near a restaurant close to Jamia Islamia Binori Town, a Sunni Muslim school where thousands study, said Fayyaz Leghari, the operational chief of Karachi police.

Syed Mazhar, a doctor at nearby Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, said four people died of their injuries, and 16 others were injured. Five of the injured were listed in serious condition.

A spokesman for the seminary, Ghulam Rabbani, said earlier at least 12 people were wounded when the bomb attached to a motorcycle parked near the restaurant went off.

“People were gathered round a suspicious looking bag when the explosion occurred in a motorcycle parked nearby,” Rabbani said.

It was unclear what was the target of the bomb. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

In May, assailants fatally shot the school’s head, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, in a drive-by attack.

Shamzai was a prominent pro-Taliban cleric whose killing sparked violence by thousands of his supporters in Karachi.