Blast kills 11, injures 24 in southern Pakistan

A bomb explosion in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi has killed 11 people, including children, and injured 24 others.

The incident happened during a football match, which was being held in the city’s Lyari area before dawn on Wednesday.

According to local media, the explosion took place as players and spectators were leaving the playground after the final match of a Ramadan night tournament for children, aged between 12 and 15 years old.

“A match was being played. When the match ended, we came out and as soon as we came out there was a blast… Everyone started running in panic. Many people were hit, which scared everyone,” said one of the children injured in the explosion.

Parents rushed to the nearby hospitals where the dead and injured were taken to after the blast.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack which reportedly targeted provincial minister Javed Nagori, a special guest at the ceremony.

Witnesses and the police said the bomb had most probably been planted in a motorbike parked near the football ground

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since October 2001, when Pakistan joined an alliance with the United States in the so-called war against terrorism.

Since late 2009, there has been a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan and thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.