Suspected suicide bomber killed in premature explosion

According to Bomb Disposal Squad, about two-and-a-half kilogrammes of explosive material were used in the bomb.

QUETTA:

A would-be suicide bomber was killed near Kuchlak, in the suburbs of Quetta, on Tuesday when an explosive that he was carrying detonated prematurely.

“The bomber had hired a cab and wanted to go to Chaman (a bordering town with Afghanistan) with the intention of targeting someone, but the explosives he had fixed to his body prematurely went off,” SP Malik Arshid told reporters, while confirming that the man was a suicide bomber.

According to the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), about two-and-a-half kilogrammes of explosive material were used in the bomb.

SP Arshid further said: “The cab driver stopped in Kuchlak to pick a family that also wanted to go to Chaman. However, the bomber got out of the cab soon after which the explosion took place.”

The police took the driver into custody for further investigation.

Kuchlak is a pre dominantly Pashto-speaking area and a stronghold of religious parties. The five foreigners who were gunned down near Kharotabad in May this year had also hired a cab for Quetta from Kuchlak.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2011.