Pakistan: seven killed in bomb blast in Karachi

A bomb blast in Pakistan's port city of Karachi early on Wednesday killed seven people and wounded 26 others, police said.

A bomb blast in Pakistan's port city of Karachi early on Wednesday killed seven people and wounded 26 others, police said.

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The blast took place in the impoverished Lyari neighbourhood of the city after a football match.

"The bomb was planted on a motorbike that was parked outside the stadium, killing seven people, many of them teenage boys," police official Tariq Dharejo told AFP.

Dharejo said the bomb was a remote-controlled device.

Local lawmaker Sania Naz from the Pakistan People's Party also confirmed the blast and put the death toll at 11.

She said those killed were aged from six to 15 years old.

Karachi, a city of 18 million people, contributes 42% of Pakistan's GDP but is rife with murder and kidnappings and has been plagued for years by ethnic, sectarian and political violence.

Football is popular in the area, with people of all ages playing the game.