Two cops killed in 'accidental' grenade explosion at Karachi police HQ

Two policemen were killed and two others were injured when a hand grenade "accidentally" exploded at the police headquarters building here in Pakistan's southern Sindh province on Wednesday, an official said.

The explosion occurred in the congested garden area outside the building's armoury in-charge's office, where arms are stored and handed out to officials on duty, Umar Khattab, top counter terrorism department official in Sindh, said.

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The injured have been rushed to a nearby hospital, the official said, adding that one of the deceased officials was carrying the hand grenade when it exploded. "Another grenade didn’t explode and it appears to be a case of mishandling of the grenades by the police officials,” Khattab said.

Khattab said another grenade "miraculously" did not explode, adding that the incident was a case of "mishandling" rather than a terror incident.

Karachi police spokesperson Shazia Jehan, however, said the city police chief Javed Odho had taken notice of the incident and ordered an inquiry to ascertain the circumstances that led to the explosion.