Karachi: A bomb planted on a motorbike killed at least nine people and wounded 52 others on Monday evening in Karachi, officials said.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast. Islamic militants have been blamed for a growing number of bloody attacks in Pakistan, but violent crime also plagues this volatile city of 15 million people.
The explosives-rigged motorcycle was parked among fruit in an industrial district.
''I went to deliver a pot of tea to the fruit vendors then suddenly a huge bang pushed me to the wall and things hit me,'' said Abdul Sattar, 24-year-old waiter at a roadside restaurant.
He cried in pain from burns suffered from the blast. ''My face is burning,'' he said from his hospital bed.
Dr Seemi Jamali at Jinnah Hospital, one of the Karachi's largest, said nine people had died, including two boys, and at least 52 others were wounded.
After the blast, rioting broke near the scene of the bombing and in another ethnic Pashtun-dominated area of the city. People hurled stones at passing vehicles and set fire to tires. Gunshot was heard but it was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt in the firing.
The unrest comes little more than two weeks after the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto set off a wave of destruction across the southern province of Sindh, of which Karachi is the capital.
Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said Monday's bombing was an attempt to disrupt peace in the city after normality had returned. ''Perhaps that does not suit some elements .. this is a deplorable incident and very tragic,'' he said.
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