KARACHI: FBI men yet to identify vehicle used in explosion
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, June 16: A team of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Sunday again inspected the scene of Friday’s car bomb blast, which occurred in front of the US consulate killing up to 11 persons, and collected some particles of the wreckage to determine which of the two vehicles was used in the explosion.
Police sources said a 19-member FBI team emerged from the consulate in the morning and went out to inspect the crime scene. They moved all around Abdullah Haroon Road in front of the US consulate and also went to the Frere Garden, where the wreckage was lying.
The FBI agents put particles of the wreckage into shopping bags to examine them later using their sophisticated forensic equipment and ascertain that which car was actually used in the blast, the sources added.
They said that the FBI agents did not believe in the local police’s assumption that the car, belonging to the Khanum Motor Training School and carrying four women, was used in the explosion by a remote control device. However, they did not completely rule out this opinion of the local investigators, the sources claimed.
They said the local investigators were of the view that the fragments of the car indicated that they were that of Toyota Corolla, and the Suzuki Hi-Roof was destroyed by the impact of the powerful blast as it might have been running parallel to the Corolla.
The investigations, the sources said, showed that the Toyota Corolla was blown to pieces, which indicated that the explosives were planted in it. The examination of the bodies of four women riders of that car also showed that splinters were stuck into their limbs.
They argued that the splinters could stuck into the body of a person who could be very close to the explosives.
The police picked up a young woman, Ayesha Bibi, in her Orangi Town home late on Saturday night and associated her with the investigation of this case. She is a sister of Mohammad Umer, an activist of a banned organization, who had reportedly claimed to have got training in suicide bombing with six others.
The police suspected that Ayesha had links with an Islamic militant organization. She was being interrogated by the investigators, who had been trying to extract information from her about her links with terrorists.
The relatives of the victims of the incident, including five women, were still in the custody of the police and were being questioned.
The police raided the house of Shafaat, a victim of the car bomb blast, when his family went to the house of his niece, Dr Aliya Warsi, who also lost her life in the blast. The police knocked at the door and after getting no response, they broke it open, ransacked the house, and took away some photographs, documents, and other articles. They also raided the house of Aliya and picked up her family members.
The movement of vehicles on Abdullah Haroon Road from the Metropole Hotel to Hoshang Chowk remained suspended on Sunday also. The police also closed Fatima Jinnah Road, running from Avari Towers to the Cantt Station. The residence of the US consul-general is situated on this road.
In Clifton, Sharah-i-Iran from Do-Talwar to the Helipad Chowk remained closed.
DEATH TOLL: Another victim of the explosion, a policeman died on Sunday, raising the number of deaths to 11. Head constable Obaidullah, 35, was on duty at the police checkpost near the consulate.
