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| Wednesday, 17 March 2004 |
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Foiled attack on US consulate in Pakistan an anti-terror success:US WASHINTON, Tuesday (AFP) The United States praised Pakistan for preventing a huge car explosion outside the American consulate in Karachi, saying it was a reflection of effective counterterrorism cooperation. Pakistani authorities found and defused around 650 litres of chemical explosives in a van parked outside the tightly guarded consulate building. The attempted attack on the consulate came just two days before US Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to the Pakistani capital Islamabad, 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) north of Karachi, and almost two years after a deadly attack on the same building. US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the authorities had not found those responsible or heard of any claim for the possible attack "but we would praise the very alert and courageous action of all those involved in detecting and responding to what could have been a horrific explosion. "I think this shows that counterterrorism cooperation is effective and can work," he told a media briefing. Asked whether it was a possible warning in advance of Secretary Powell's visit, Ereli said Karachi had been the "scene of bombings for some time, so there's unfortunately a pattern of this kind of activity. "So I think that should be taken into account when you're sort of trying to figure out why," he added. But Ereli said Powell, who arrived in India Monday at the start of a South Asia trip focusing on the peace process in the subcontinent and on nuclear proliferation, would go ahead with his Pakistan visit. Meanwhile a Libyan, probably from the al Qaeda network, is a prime suspect in an attempt to assassinate Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Musharraf was quoted as saying on Monday. The Pakistani leader narrowly escaped two bomb attacks in Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad in December. |
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