Explosion kills one, injures several, near Pakistan’s Karachi airport

Pakistani secessionist group Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the blast.

At least one person has been killed and 10 others injured in an explosion near the international airport in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, local broadcaster Geo News reported, less than two weeks before a regional summit slated to be held in the capital Islamabad.

Citing a provincial official, Geo News added that at least one foreigner was among the injured. The nature of the blast, which took place on Sunday night, was not immediately clear.

Television footage and videos on social media showed large plumes of smoke at the site on Model Colony Road, though airport buildings and installations were safe.

According to the Pakistan daily Dawn News, airlines’ schedules at the Jinnah International Airport have not been affected by the incident.

The Sindh province’s home minister, Ziaul Hasan Lanjar, told Geo News that the explosion was caused by a suspected improvised explosive device (IED).

Earlier, a statement from his office had said that the blast was due to an oil tanker explosion.

A massive explosion struck a high-security convoy near Karachi airport, engulfing multiple vehicles, including those of security forces, in flames. pic.twitter.com/dymz0D8kXd

— Mamoon Durrani