At least nine people were killed and about two dozen were wounded in clashes with police and paramilitary forces on Sunday after hundreds of protesters stormed the U.S. Consulate in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, authorities said.
The violence came hours after the United States and “Israel” attacked Iran and assassinated the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Police and officials at a hospital in Karachi said at least 25 people were also wounded in the clashes and some of them were in critical condition.
Summaiya Syed Tariq, a police surgeon at the city’s main government hospital, confirmed that initially six bodies and multiple injured people were brought to the facility. However, she said the death toll rose to nine after three critically wounded died.
Karachi is the capital of southern Sindh province and Pakistan’s largest city.
Senior police official Irfan Baloch said protesters briefly attacked the perimeter of the U.S. Consulate but were later dispersed. “The situation is now fully under our control,” Baloch said.
A rally was also planned in the capital, Islamabad, and elsewhere in the country. Authorities said the government has stepped up security around the U.S. Embassy in the capital, and consulates across the country to avoid any further violence.
