Courtesy: Dawn News
At least four people — including two police personnel — were killed and 18 others sustained injuries in a blast near a police vehicle parked next to Qandhari Bazar on Shahrah-i-Iqbal in Quetta on Monday, police and hospital officials said.
Quetta Civil Hospital spokesperson Dr Wasim Baig confirmed the number of victims to Dawn.com, saying that the deceased also included a minor girl.
According to SSP Operations Captain (retd) Zohaib Mohsin, the target of the blast was a police vehicle.
“The explosives were planted in a motorcycle,” he said, adding that the injured also included women and children.
“According to initial information, three to four kilos of explosives were used in the blast,” the police official said. “Due to the blast, two vehicles, including the police van, were damaged.”
TV footage showed a damaged police automobile surrounded by a number of personnel. Several ambulances were also seen leaving the site of the explosion.
According to Radio Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident and prayed for the deceased while extending his condolences to their families.
“The prime minister reiterated the resolve to thwart the nefarious designs of terrorists,” the report stated.
A day earlier, two cops were martyred and one was injured in an attack by unknown assailants in the Killi Spine area of the Kuchlak district.
The policemen, who belonged to the Eagle Squad, were patrolling on a motorcycle when the assailants opened indiscriminate fire, leaving three injured. Quetta DIG Ghulam Azfar Maheser had confirmed that the cops were targeted by terrorists.