Pakistani firemen try to extinguish cars set ablaze after a bomb blast in Karachi November 15, 2005. (Xinhua/AFP photo)

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- At least three people were killed and 21 others injured Tuesday morning in a powerful car bomb blast in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, according to local TV reports.

    Earlier the provincial Home Minister Abdur Rauf Siddiqui and a relief group put the death toll at six.

    Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-Ul-Ebad Khan condemned the bombing and directed the police in the province to be alert.

    Inspector General of the Karachi police Asad Jehangir told reporters that a five-kilogram locally made bomb was used in the blast.

    He said the explosive was hidden in a car exploded outside a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurant, which exploded at about 8:40 a.m.

    But he did not blame any group for the blast and hoped that the police will find clues.

    

Pakistani firemen try to extinguish cars set ablaze after a bomb blast in Karachi November 15, 2005. (Xinhua/AFP photo)

At the same time a group, the Balochistan Liberation Army, has claimed responsibility for the blast.

    Shakir Alam, purported spokesman for the group, phoned media offices in Karachi and claimed responsibility

    Alam said attacks on government buildings will continue unless problems of southwestern Balochistan are resolved.

    The group, in the past, has also claimed responsibility of attacks on government buildings and bomb blast, in the Balochistan province.

    It is believed the KFC is the main target. The KFC and other western fast food restaurants have also been attacked in the past.

    Two five-star hotels are also located close to the bomb blast site, which is considered a high security zone. Most westerners reside in the two five start hotels.

    Witnesses said that the casualties were less as the explosion happened when the people were heading to offices and shops and the people were not inside the KFC.

    Karachi, also the major commercial city in the country, has been the scene of several bomb attacks in the past.

    In September, several people were wounded when a KFC and a MacDonald's restaurant were bombed.

    In May, six people were killed when protesters set fire to a KFC outlet in the city, during clashes between religious groups.

    Meanwhile, Sun Chunye, Chinese Consul General in Karachi, told Xinhua by telephone that there had been no Chinese citizens or overseas Chinese among the casualties. Enditem