JAPANESE workers in Pakistan narrowly escaped a suicide bomb attack near the port city of Karachi today, but the blast wounded three bystanders.

The van carrying the five Suzuki Motors employees was heading to an industrial area, according to local police chief Arshad Awan.

He said the van’s police escort had returned fire after coming under attack, killing an accomplice of the suicide bomber, whose remains were found at the scene.

Police accompanied the van after receiving a report of possible attacks on foreign workers.

Mr Awan said the three wounded passersby were in a stable condition in hospital.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the attack on the Japanese workers and vowed to eliminate terrorism.

No-one immediately admitted responsibility, but a small separatist group or the Pakistani Taliban could have been behind the attack, based on their previous actions.

Last month, five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in north-west Pakistan when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a vehicle as they were going to work at the Dasu Dam, Pakistan’s biggest hydropower project in Pakistan.