11 killed, 42 others injured in Quetta blast

More than 5 kgs explosive material detonates at busy intersection in Quetta, Ahrarul Hind claims responsibility.

QUETTA: At least 11 people, including children and one woman, were killed and 42 sustained injuries in a bomb blast in front of the Science College at Jinnah Road, downtown of the Quetta, on Friday. The number of children who died or got injured could not be specified till the time this report was received.

The Capital City Police Officer Quetta (CCPO) Abdul Razzaq Cheema confirmed that 11 people were killed and 42 others wounded. “Most of the people on board a passenger bus have become the victims. Four vehicles were also destroyed in the blast,” he told The Express Tribune.

Jinnah Road is located in the heart of the city and there was dense traffic when the blast occurred. The dead and the injured were lying in a pool of blood when rescue workers and police reached the spot.

The blast was heard up to five kilometers from the scene of the blast. The window panes of several shops and buildings, including the Science College, were shattered due to the impact of the blast.

According to the Bomb Disposal Squad, more than five kilograms of explosive material was used in the blast.

“The floor shuddered with the impact of the blast and we ran amok. Near Science College, we saw people wailing and crying. They lying in a pool of blood,” said Mohammed Shahid, a passerby, adding that public and rescue workers shifted the bodies to Provincial Sandeman Hospital.

A state of emergency was imposed at the hospital. “We received ten dead and more than 25 injured,” hospital sources said.

A rickshaw, a bus and two cars were destroyed in the blast.

Police investigation

Police investigators said it is yet to be known whether the bomb was planted in the bus or fitted to a bicycle as the Bomb Disposal Squad is still collecting evidence.

Another official said it seemed the target could be an FC vehicle which had passed the spot a few minutes ago. However, the same official said that there was a congregation of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) in the Hockey Stadium which is situated half a kilometer from the spot.

The Quetta CCPO said all the victims were civilians and investigations are under way.

Jinnah Road is business hub of the provincial capital where offices, shopping centres, commercial establishments, restaurants and markets are located.

Ahrarul Hind claims responsibility

An increasingly active Taliban splinter group, Ahrarul Hind, claimed responsibility for the attack.

"We claim both Peshawar and Quetta attacks," their chief, Umar Qasmi, told Reuters. "We don't abide by these talks and will continue to stage attacks."

The Pakistani Taliban, who are separate from the Afghan Taliban, is a fragmented and deeply divided movement of dozens of small groups which do not always agree with each other.

The leadership of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is keen on the talks, immediately distanced itself from the Friday attacks. "The TTP strongly condemns the Peshawar and Quetta blasts," said TTP spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid. "We have no connection to these attacks because we are observing a ceasefire."