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| Terror Networks |
| Karachi bus bomb kills 11 Frenchies, three Paks |
| 2002-05-08 |
| At least 14 people were killed -- 11 French nationals and three Pakistanis -- when an explosion ripped through a bus outside an upscale Karachi hotel in Pakistan early Wednesday, according to Pakistani and French authorities. At least 23 others, including at least 12 French nationals, were wounded in the blast. Police are investigating whether the French people were the intended targets. The target was probably just "them furriners..." Officials from France's Department of Defense said they have not received any threats against French citizens. In Paris, a French Defense Ministry official was asked if France suspected the al Qaeda terrorist organization was linked to the explosion. The official said he would not rule that out, but he added it was too soon to say. Al-Qaeda, Muttahida Quami Movement, Sipah-e-Sahiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, take your pick. Or just some guy who wanted to watch a car explode... Police believe a car bomb detonated in a vehicle parked near the bus outside the Karachi Sheraton Hotel. The bus had picked up a group of French workers at another hotel before stopping at the Sheraton, Karachi Police Inspector Gen. Syed Kamal (Fatty Arbuckle) Shah said. Authorities are also looking into the possibility of a suicide bombing. We expect to see the usual sterling investigation. Fatty's top-notch, trained by the famed international detective Inspector Camembert... French President Jacques Chirac condemned the attack and announced he was sending newly appointed Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie to Karachi. "M. Defense Minister, you must go to Karachi." "What have I done, M. le President?" Officials in the French Defense Ministry said most of the victims were part of a group of French engineers constructing a submarine for Pakistan as part of a joint naval project. Not that the boom artists cared a whit about that... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |