  
| 
| ||||||||||||
Karachi blasts target food outlets
 An explosion shattered windows in this KFC outlet in Karachi. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS(CNN) -- Two nearly simultaneous explosions went off early Friday at a McDonald's and a KFC fast-food restaurant in Pakistan's commercial capital of Karachi, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of deaths, but police said two people were wounded. The explosions happened around 12:50 a.m. (3:50 p.m. ET Thursday) in Karachi's Defense district.. The first bomb went off inside the KFC restaurant, followed about eight minutes later by a blast outside the McDonald's on the city's beach front. Witness Mohammed Akhtar, quoted by The Associated Press, said the explosion shattered windows and several people, including a girl, were cut by flying glass. Three cars outside were damaged. According to AP, city police chief Tariq Jamil said the bomb went off on the mezzanine floor of the restaurant and blasted a hole through a concrete wall. The McDonald's explosion caused panic but no injuries, police said. There were about 80 people inside the restaurant at the time. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, AP reported. Jamil said both bombs were homemade and of low intensity. He said the attacks may have been linked to a nationwide strike called for Friday by a hardline Islamic coalition opposed to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, AP reported. U.S. fast food outlets in Karachi have been targeted before. On May 30, a KFC restaurant was burned and six workers inside were killed during an outbreak of religious sectarian violence in the city. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
|
| ||||||||||||
| © 2007 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
 |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
