Twin bomb explosions killed at least five people and injured 18 others in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Friday, police said.

Twin bomb explosions killed at least five people and injured 18 others in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Friday, police said.

The two blasts took place within minutes of each other in the city's bustling neighborhood of Ancholi.

"The improvised explosive devices were planted on two motorbikes, which went off with a big bang, killing five people and injuring 18 others," senior local police official Javed Odho told AFP.

Another senior local police official, Aamir Farooqi, confirmed the attacks and casualties.

The blasts, which damaged shops and cars, took place despite unusually tight security in the city, where at least 15,000 people attended a protest rally earlier in the day against sectarian violence in Rawalpindi last week that killed 11 people.

Karachi, a city of 18 million people, which contributes 42 percent of Pakistan's GDP, is rife with murder, kidnappings and has been plagued with sectarian, ethnic, and political violence for years.