A Ranger stands guard at the site of a bomb explosion in Karachi on April 3, 2013. – Photo by Reuters

KARACHI: An explosion near a checkpost of Rangers force killed four security personnel and injured at least four others in Karachi’s Korangi neighbourhood on Wednesday, DawnNews reported quoting security officials.

Initial reports suggest that at least eight people including security personnel sustained injuries when a bomb exploded near headquarters of the Rangers force in Korangi No.5 area.

“It was a bomb blast, the target seems to be a van of carrying soldiers,” police official Karim Khan told AFP.

The blast happened near the Rangers' headquarters in the city's eastern district of Korangi, he added.

Four of the injured succumbed to their wounds when they were being taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Meanwhile, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan has claimed responsibility, saying they targeted the Rangers for working against them.

“We received seven wounded soldiers, three of them expired later,” senior doctor Seemi Jamali said, adding that two were in critical condition.

A spokesman of Rangers has confirmed the number of causalities and said that a vehicle of the Rangers forces, with a dozen personnel on board, was returning from duty when attacked by unidentified miscreants. The vehicle was completely damaged in the blast, said the spokesman, adding that a hand grenade or a cracker was hurled at the vehicle.

The spokesman identified the deceased as Irfan, Amanat, Majid and Saifullah.

The blast spread fear among the locals residents as shops and small businesses were reportedly shut after the incident.

Police and security agencies have cordoned off the site and the media is prohibited to enter the area.

“It was an attack on the Rangers' pickup truck,” senior police officer Tahir Naveed confirmed. “An explosive device, most probably a hand grenade was hurled into the moving van causing the casualties,” Naveed told AFP.

The attack might be linked to operations being carried out by Rangers against militants and criminals gangs in the city, he added.

Taking notice of the incident, Caretaker Prime Minister Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso and Governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan have ordered a quick probe report of the blast.

The caretaker PM, in a statement, said that such cowardly acts would not deter the resolve of the law enforcement agencies of wiping out the terrorism from the society.

Recent violence in Karachi and elsewhere has fuelled fears of instability as the country heads towards general elections in May.

The city of 18 million, which is Pakistan's business hub, last year saw around 2,000 people killed in violence linked to ethnic and political tensions, its deadliest toll in two decades.