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Death toll in Karachi blast rises to 9

By the CNN Wire Staff
Police commandos guard the Sufi shrine in Karachi on Friday a day after twin suicide bomb blasts killed at least nine.
Police commandos guard the Sufi shrine in Karachi on Friday a day after twin suicide bomb blasts killed at least nine.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility for the attack
  • At least 74 are injured in the blast at the shrine of a Sufi saint
  • Karachi shrines are shut down for the time being
RELATED TOPICS
  • Karachi
  • Pakistan
  • The Taliban

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The death toll from two blasts at a shrine in Karachi has risen to 9, officials said Friday.

In addition, the number of those wounded in the Thursday explosions has climbed to 74, said Dr. Saghir Ahmed, the health minister for Sindh province.

Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, is located in Sindh province.

The suicide attack was launched at the shrine of a revered Sufi Muslim saint, Abdullah Shah Ghazi, said Zulfiqar Ali Mirza, interior minister of Sindh. Mirza has ordered the closing of Karachi shrines until further notice.

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibiilty for the explosions.

The attack occurred Thursday night, the busiest time at the shrine because it's the eve of Muslim Friday prayers. Karachi and Sindh residents make pilgrimages to the shrine to offer prayers.

Thursday night also is when people distribute free food to the poor, an act that is one of the five pillars of Islam.