Militants attack Chinese Consulate in Pakistan

Armed separatists on Friday morning staged an hourlong shootout at the Chinese Consulate in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan, killing two police officers and two civilians. Witnesses reported hearing multiple blasts and gunshots before responding police officers killed all three assailants. Amir Shaikh, the Karachi police chief, said officers shot the attackers before they could enter the consulate building. Police identified the two civilian casualties as a father and son who were at the consulate to obtain visas. The Baluchistan Liberation Army, an insurgent separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was fighting “Chinese occupation.”

Karachi lies just outside the southern tip of the Baluchistan province, where the separatist group has staged a few low-level attacks to oppose Chinese projects. In a separate attack on Friday, at least 35 people died and dozens of others sustained injuries when a bomb exploded at a food market in the Orakzai region of the Khyber Pakhtunkwa province. Local police official Tahir Ali said the majority of the casualties were from the Shiite Muslim minority. No group claimed responsibility.