At least five people including police and security personnel were killed and 23 others including women and children wounded in a powerful bomb blast in Quetta.
Police said unidentified people had fitted explosives with a motorbike and parked it at Sirki Road. The bomb exploded as a vehicle of Frontier Corps (FC) approached near. Three security personnel, a policeman and a scavenger were killed on the spot.
Most of the injured were passersby. Police and personnel of Frontier Corps rushed to the site after the blast and cordoned off the area. The rescue workers shifted dead and injured to Civil Hospital Quetta. Later the seriously injured were shifted to CMH for further treatment. The condition of three injured is said to be serious.
“The blast badly damaged over seven vehicles, including vehicle of security forces and shattered windowpanes of nearby markets and a bank,” a police official said, adding that 7 to 8 kilogram explosive material was used in the blast that was carried out through a remote controlled device. He said that the vehicle of security forces was the main target of the bomb blast.
Banned outfit United Baloch Army (UBA) claimed responsibility for the blast. Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch strongly condemned the bomb blast and loss of precious lives and said that those who are committing such incidents are not well wishers of anybody.
In another incident, three people were wounded in a bomb blast in Chaman town bordering with Afghanistan. Chaman Assistant Commissioner Ismail Ibrahim said that the explosives were planted with a motorbike which was parked at Eidgha Chowk. The bomb was blasted through a remote controlled device, he said. The injured were moved to local hospital for medical aid and later shifted to Quetta where condition of one injured was said to be serious.
Two dead bodies were discovered from Grog area in Nal tehsil of Khuzdar. Levies official said Mir Muhammad s/o Rasul Baksh and Palan Khan s/o Raza Muhammad Sumalani were kidnapped by a group of armed men from Nal area and their bodies were found dumped on Thursday. A Balochistan National Party (BNP) spokesperson said the victims were their activists and they had been targeted because of party’s political views. “Despite the government’s tall claims, bodies of political activists are being dumped,” said BNP Information Secretary Agha Hassan.
Two unidentified dead bodies were also recovered from Panjgour district. In another incident, unidentified armed men riding a motorbike hurled a hand grenade in Turbat town of Kech district that killed two persons who are said to be labourers hailing from Gilgit Baltistan. Three women were wounded in a landmine blast in Dera Bugti district who were shifted to hospital in serious condition. Reportedly, a blast also took place in Kuchlak area, some 20 km from Quetta, which injured three people.
“At least five people including two policemen were killed and 25 others wounded in the Quetta blast,” senior local police official Samiullah Soomro told AFP.
He said eight of the wounded, including six policemen and two FC officials, were in a critical condition.
Senior local administration official Zahid bin Maqsood also confirmed the incident and casualties.
Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the bomb blast targeting a FC vehicle in Satellite Town area of Quetta, that resulted in loss of life and property.
The Prime Minister also condemned the Chaman blast which caused injuries to two people, a press release in Islamabad said.
While sympathising with the families of the victims, the Prime Minister prayed to Almighty Allah for resting the departed souls in eternal peace and granting courage to the bereaved to bear their loss with fortitude.
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