Suicide attackers kill eight in Karachi

The attack came amid tension between Washington and Islamabad over NATO helicopter incursions that have led Pakistan to close a key border crossing used to ferry supplies to Western troops in Afghanistan. Despite US apologies over the incursions, one of which left two Pakistani soldiers dead, Islamabad said Thursday it had yet to decide when to reopen the crossing.

The explosions at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi's mausoleum in Karachi occurred Thursday evening.

Abdullah Shah was an 8th century preacher credited with spreading the message of Islam in the region along the Arabian Sea coast.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw blood and flesh splattered at the mausoleum compound. A young boy with blood-stained clothes cried for help in a police vehicle. Dozens of ambulances lined up outside to ferry victims to hospitals.

The first explosion took place as the suspected bomber was going through the metal detector at the entrance, said Babar Khattak, the top police officer in Sindh province. The second blast took place about 10 seconds later, further ahead of the metal detector, he added.

Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza said suicide bombing was suspected because of the discovery of severed heads. "We have the best available security at the site," Mirza said. "Humanly, it is not possible to stop suicide bombers intent on exploding themselves."

In July, twin suicide bombers attacked Data Darbar, the mausoleum of another preacher, in the eastern city of Lahore, killing 47 people and wounding 180. That attack infuriated many Pakistanis, who saw it as an unjustified assault on peaceful civilians. In the aftermath, even amid fury against militants, many also blamed the US presence in Afghanistan for fueling militant violence in their nation, Kazinform cites Arab News. See www.arabnews.com for full version.