Bomb attacks kill four in Pakistan's Karachi: officials

Karachi:  Three bomb blasts including a suicide attack on Pakistani security forces in the commercial hub of Karachi killed four people on Wednesday, officials said, with the Taliban claiming responsibility.

Three paramilitary Rangers and one civilian were killed, while four other people were wounded.

In the first incident, two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were placed close to a Rangers' checkpost in the busy North Nazimabad neighbourhood, killing one soldier and wounding three when they were detonated remotely.

The IEDs were installed in cement blocks, said senior police officer Amir Farooqi.

Later, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the Rangers' headquarters in the same area of the city, killing two of the paramilitaries and a civilian security guard, and wounding another.

"The suicide attacker walked in and tried to enter into the gate when he was intercepted by the security officials and he blew himself up," Farooqi told AFP.

A spokesman for the Rangers confirmed the toll. "The Rangers personnel who spotted and intercepted the suicide bomber will be awarded the highest Rangers gallantry award," he added.

The injured were rushed to the nearby Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility for the attacks.

"We carried out the attacks to take revenge for killing of our mujahideen in jails," he told AFP.

The Taliban regularly complain that their members, once incarcerated, are victims of extra-judicial killings by security forces.

Earlier this month a Taliban suicide attacker killed one of Pakistan's best-known police commanders, famed for his fearless work tackling militants in the city.

Karachi, a city of 18 million people which contributes 42 percent of Pakistan's GDP, has been plagued by sectarian, ethnic and political violence for years.

Pakistan has endured a bloody start to the year with 114 people killed in attacks in January, according to an AFP tally.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government has been under fire for failing to make a strong response to the upsurge in violence. For NDTV Updates,

Bomb hits Cairo, Al Qaeda-linked group claims attacks

Reuters

A police officer inspects a crater made after a bomb attack in front of the Cairo Security Directorate building, which includes police and state security, in downtown Cairo on January 24, 2014.

Cairo:  A bomb exploded near a police academy in Cairo on Saturday, security sources said, a day after a wave of deadly blasts raised fears that an Islamist insurgency was gaining momentum.

An Al Qaeda-inspired group, based in Egypt's lawless Sinai Peninsula, claimed responsibility for Friday's attacks which killed six people, said the SITE monitoring organisation.

No one was wounded in Saturday's explosion, said the interior ministry, but more violence was expected as rival political movements gather to mark the third anniversary of the uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Islamist militants based in the Sinai Peninsula have stepped up attacks since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July. Hundreds of security forces have been killed.

Militant group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (Supporters of Jerusalem) claimed responsibility for the attacks, including a car bomb at a security compound in central Cairo, in a message posted online, said US-based SITE.

The message told Muslims to stay away from "enemy headquarters and security centres".

Last year, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for a failed assassination attempt on the Interior Minister.

The army-backed government, along with state-run and most private media, accuse Mursi's Brotherhood of carrying out terrorist attacks.

Authorities have tightened security around Cairo in anticipation of trouble, as rival political factions plan to gather to mark the anniversary of Mubarak's downfall.

Police and army have deployed heavily, and helicopters flew over a ghostly quiet downtown Cairo on Saturday morning.

Mohamed Saleh, a 63-year-old taxi driver, said he planned to commemorate the 2011 revolt by going to Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the uprising, but the square was tightly sealed off by armoured vehicles on Saturday morning.

"This was a complete popular uprising by the people," Saleh said, recalling the historic 18 days of protests that led to Mubarak's ouster. "It was protected by the army," he added.

Clashes in the capital and several other cities on Friday between Mursi supporters and security forces killed 14 people, in another sign of high tensions in the biggest Arab nation.