KARACHI: At least 14 members of an extended family, en route from a wedding, were killed and several injured when the mini-truck they were travelling in came under a grenade attack on the outskirts of Pakistan's southern city of Karachi on Saturday night.
“Doctors are doing their best to save the lives of the injured & whatever treatment or surgery that needs to take place will be done,” Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui, Advisor on Law and Environment to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, said in a Twitter post on Sunday.
The attack comes a day after Pakistan celebrated its 75th Independence Day on Saturday.
The family, originally from Swat in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, had settled in Karachi, capital of the southern Sindh province, according to officials.
No group has claimed responsibility yet, but a senior counterterrorism officer in Karachi told Arab News "separatists organisation" could be involved and that the "truck was the main target."
“A hand grenade was tossed up to this [mini] truck, which was taking a family from a wedding. The grenade went off at a height before landing on the surface of the vehicle; that’s why it resulted in huge losses,” Raja Umar Khattab said.
“It seems to be part of the attacks on Independence Day celebrations, and any separatists organization can be behind it," he added.
Khattab said security forces had cordoned off the area, and investigations were underway.
