Policemen stand near grenades and ammunition collected from the site of a blast at Karachi's Clifton beach early morning November 17, 2011.—Reuters Photo

KARACHI: At least seven people -- five terrorists and two policemen -- were killed in what appeared to be a suicide bombing at the Karachi sea front on Wednesday night.

Investigators said the terrorist who blew himself up appeared to be of Central Asian origin. They did not rule out the possibility of a woman among the terrorists.

The incident took place at a desolated spot reclaimed from the sea neighbouring a park and a popular restaurant.

DIG South Commander Shaukat Ali Shah said the bodies of three terrorists were intact while two were beyond recognition.

“Two of our men riding a motorcycle followed a suspicious looking hi-roof van which drove towards the reclaimed piece of land, almost at the dead end of the sea. The van stopped there and three men came out. The fourth one apparently blew himself up in the vehicle,” SSP South Naeem Ahmed Shaikh told Dawn.

The two policemen who had followed the suspects were also killed in the blast.

However, investigators were still not sure if the blast took place accidentally or the terrorist detonated the bomb after seeing the two policemen. About the motive and presence of the terrorists at the sea front, an official told Dawn that a senior military official was supposed to visit the nearby restaurant.

However, a police official linked the blast to the upcoming Urs of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi. The van turned into a heap of twisted metal, but the bodies of three terrorists were in an identifiable condition. “The three terrorists died of pellet wounds,” SP Raja Umar Khattab said.

Police found three AK-47 rifles, seven hand-grenades and a suicide belt at the blast site. The registration book of the vehicle and NIC of a suspected terrorist were also found.

A team of ACLC retrieved the chassis number of the hi-roof -- a Bolan vehicle of 2004 made. The bodies of the policemen were taken to hospital while the bodies and remains of the terrorists were kept at the scene of the blast. CID and SIU officials collected finger prints from the bodies.