Four dead, 49 hurt in Pakistan car bomb

At least one car bomb exploded today outside the US consulate and a luxury hotel in Karachi, killing four people and wounding 49, two days ahead of a visit to Pakistan by the US president, police said.

The blast ripped through vehicles in the parking lot of the Marriott Hotel, about 20 metres from the consulate gate, shattering windows at both locations and other nearby buildings. Ten cars were destroyed, casting flames and clouds of thick black smoke over the scene.