Car bomb defused near U.S. Consulate in Karachi
Stolen van held 200 gallons of explosives
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Police in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi say they have defused a large bomb found in a stolen minivan parked outside the U.S. Consulate.
An investigator said a man parked the gray van next to the consulate compound at 7:15 a.m. When questioned by police, he said it had broken down and promised to return to fix it. A car then picked up the man and drove away.
In the back of the van, police found a large blue tank filled with nearly 200 gallons (750 liters) of liquid explosives, which was hooked up to a timer and two detonators.
U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli praise the "very alert and courageous action" of law enforcement and security personnel for "detecting and responding to what could have been a horrific explosion."
The consulate was closed, and bomb disposal experts deactivated the device. Americans were "advised to avoid the area near the consulate," according to a U.S. warden's message.
The van was stolen Sunday in a carjacking in which the owner was shot in the leg, a police investigator told CNN.
The thief changed the license plates.
Police have released a composite sketch of the van's driver.
"We saved this place from big destruction," Karachi police official Mohammed Irfan told The Associated Press.
Monday's incident comes days ahead of a visit to Pakistan by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Powell is set to visit the capital, Islamabad, on Wednesday but will not visit Karachi. His itinerary includes stops in India and Afghanistan.
Ereli played down any connection between the bomb attempt and Powell's visit, saying the consulate has been a target before and that this incident seemed to fit a "pattern of activity."
In June 2002, a suicide truck bombing in front of the U.S. Consulate in Karachi killed at least 12 Pakistanis. Islamic militants were blamed in that attack.
In February 2002, gunmen killed two police officers outside the consulate, and wounded five other officers and a civilian.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
