Huge car bomb found near US consulate in Pakistan

A huge car bomb was defused by Pakistani police outside the US consulate in Karachi yesterday, just two days before US Secretary of State Colin Powell visits the country.

"If this exploded it would have caused massive destruction," Karachi bomb squad officer, Munir Ahmed Sheikh, told Reuters.

"God has saved us." The vehicle, which contained a 750-litre drum filled with chemicals including ammonium nitrate, and detonators, was towed away from the consulate to a nearby sports ground, where bomb disposal experts defused it, police said.

Police said it was too early to identify any group involved in the latest attempt to attack the heavily guarded consulate, but Islamic militants were prime suspects.

Since Pakistan joined the US-led war on terror in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, militants have carried out a string of assaults against Western interests, Christians and top government officials. Pakistani authorities suspect Islamic militants, particularly supporters of al Qaeda, were responsible for two car bomb attacks against President Pervez Musharraf in December.