Twelve members of an extended family, all women and boys, were killed and several others suffered injuries in a grenade attack on a mini-truck in Karachi on Saturday night.
According to media outlet Dawn, police termed the incident as an act of terrorism.
The Bomb Disposal Squad had found the lever of the grenade and confirmed that a Russian-made device had been used in the attack.
The incident occurred in the Baldia area within the limits of the Madina Colony police station.
“We are investigating the incident from different angles to ascertain whether the perpetrators were terrorists from some ethnic group or an extremist group,” said police.
Karachi police chief Imran Yaqoob Minhas told the media that the aspect of personal enmity was also being probed as all victims came from the same family. The family originally hailed from Swat.
Local police and the Counter-Terrorism Department are both investigating the incident.
Senior CTD officer Raja Umer Khattab, who examined the spot, said the initial probe revealed that the attackers were riding a motorcycle and that the grenade had exploded before falling into the vehicle.
According to Karachi South Zone DIG Javed Akbar Riaz the truck was carrying 20 to 25 people who were returning from a marriage ceremony.
Keamari SSP Fida Husain Janwari said the driver had picked up the family from Pareshan Chowk in Baldia.
“We received 10 bodies, six women and four children, at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital,” said Additional Police Surgeon Dr Qarar Abbasi. He said around an equal number of the injured, including women and children, had also been brought to the hospital.
Two of the injured died during treatment, said Dr Abbasi.
Edhi Foundation spokesperson and an official of Chhipa rescue service said at least 10 people were injured in the explosion.
The administrator of Karachi, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, while taking notice of the incident issued directives for proper medical treatment of the injured.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah issued directives for taking care of the families of the victims.
The dead were identified as Mrs Shaheen Khan, 45; her daughter Nusrat, 25; Sufiyan Shamsheer, 13; his brother Hammad, 11; Usman Khan, 15; Ms Aqsa Sher Ali, 25; Mrs Sharafat Meraj Khan, Mrs Malkiat, 50, Mrs Saleema, 47, one-year-old Zoyan Izhar; Salman, 12; and Mrs Sadaqat Dildar, 40.
