FC soldier among four killed, 22 injured in Khuzdar bombing

Baloch separatists could be responsible given the nature of the attack, says senior police official.

QUETTA: A Frontier Corps (FC) soldier among three people were killed and 22 others, including four FC men, were wounded in a remote controlled blast in Allahwala Chowk, the main intersection on Jinnah Road in downtown Khuzdar district on Saturday.

“The target of the bombing were paramilitary FC. Two passersby and a FC soldier were killed, while four FC soldiers and 18 passersby were wounded,” Waheed Shah, deputy commissioner Khuzdar, told the Express Tribune. He said Baloch separatists could be responsible for the attack.

According to Khuzdar Police, an improvised explosive device (IED) was fitted to a motorcycle parked in a busy area so that it could not be suspected easily. It was detonated after vehicles of paramilitary troops passed by.

As result of the explosion, three people -- including an FC soldier -- were killed on the spot, while four FC personnel among 22 people received splinter wounds. The area was packed with people, and the blast caused a stampede due to which some minors and women sustained injuries.

More troops and police reached the crime scene and cordoned off the area. Rescue workers shifted the bodies and injured FC to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Khuzdar, while civilian bodies and injured were transported to the District Headquarters Hospital in Khuzdar. A state of emergency was imposed at Khuzdar hospital to cope with the situation that had developed due to the aftermath of the deadly blast.

“The blast [was] aimed [at] security forces,” said DC Khuzdar. However, civilians suffered more fatalities. “Four FC soldiers who were wounded in the blast are in critical condition, while civilians are stable.”

“Baloch separatists could be responsible given the nature of the attack,” a senior police officer at Khuzdar Police Station told the Express Tribune on phone.

Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar said that an investigation of the incident was underway, and security forces would start a search operation in the area to trace those responsible for the attack.

Khuzdar, one of the largest districts located in Balochistan, had been witnessing a deteriorating law and order situation for the past five years, in which many civilians and politicians lost the their lives -- either in targeted killings or bomb blasts.

Recently a mass grave was also discovered in the Tutak area of Khuzdar. Many areas of Khuzdar are said to be in the stronghold of Baloch separatists.