New Delhi: A blast inside the premises of University of Karachi in Pakistan on Tuesday killed atleast four people, including three Chinese nationals, and injured several others.
The blast took place in a van near Confucius Institute, a Chinese language teaching centre, in Karachi University. The injured, including a foreigner, a rangers' officer and a private guard, were shifted to a private hospital in Gulshan-e-Iqbal.
Among the deseased was the director of the Confucius Institute Zhang Xiaoping. The other two female Chinese nationals were also part of the faculty of the same institute.
The victims were returning to the Confucius Institute from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) in the afternoon when the blast took place. Police authorities confirmed that the explosion in the vehicle was a terror attack, carried out by a burqa clad female bomber.
Videos from the site showed a white van completely burnt after the explosion, with one side of the vehicle peppered with small holes.
"Clear marks of ball bearings can be seen on the vehicle, which confirms that it was a terror attack. It can also be seen that one side of the van is more damaged, which also signifies that the attack may have been done by a suicide bomber who exploded after reaching close to the vehicle from one side," said an eye witness.
Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said Chinese teachers were the actual target of the explosion. "We are investigating the incident by collecting evidence, but it seems that the Chinese teachers were the actual target of the explosion," Memon said.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a banned terror group operating out of Baluchistan province in Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was carried out by a Baloch female suicide bomber, who belonged to the Majeed Brigade.
"The mission was carried out by first female fidayee of the Brigade. Fidayee Shari Baloch alias Bramsh added a new chapter in Baloch resistance history," a press release issued by BLA said.
"Majeed Brigade of Baloch Liberation Army accepts responsibility of today's self-sacrificing attack on Chinese in Karachi," the press release said.
This is a first attack by a female suicide bomber from the BLA in Pakistan, which has seen a major surge in terror attacks by various terror organisations including the Baloch separatists and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
China’s increasing influence, investments and presence in Pakistan has also been questioned and criticised by western powers and has been targeted by various terror organisations in the past.