Blast kills two Chinese near Karachi airport

KARACHI, Oct 07 (BBC): Two Chinese nationals have been killed and at least 10 people injured in a suspected suicide attack near Karachi airport in Pakistan. A third body, not yet officially identified, is thought to be that of the attacker, the BBC understands.

The Chinese embassy in Pakistan said the explosion on Sunday night was a "terrorist attack" targeting a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a power project in Sindh province.

The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which has in recent years carried out attacks on Chinese nationals involved in development projects in Pakistan, has said it carried out the attack.

In a statement released on Monday, the militant group said it had "targeted a high-level convoy of Chinese engineers and investors" arriving from Karachi airport.

A later statement from the group described it as a suicide attack, and named the perpetrator as Shah Fahad, part of a BLA suicide squad called Majeed Brigade.

The attack was carried out using a "vehicle-borne improvised explosive device", Reuters news agency quoted the BLA as saying.

The explosion happened around 23:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Sunday. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the attack a "heinous act" and offered his condolences to the Chinese people.

"Pakistan stands committed to safeguarding our Chinese friends," he wrote on X. The country's foreign ministry said it is "in close contact" with Chinese authorities and will "bring to justice those responsible for this cowardly attack".

"This act of terrorism is an attack not only on Pakistan, but also on the enduring friendship between Pakistan and China," the ministry said. "This barbaric act will not go unpunished," it added.