Two IED blasts rock suburban Quetta

QUETTA: Two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) went off in suburban Quetta on Saturday. The blasts took place near an abandoned railway track in the Tor Nasir area of Chashma Achozai close to Airport Road.

According to SSP (Operations) Waheedur Rehman Khattak, the first blast occurred on an empty plot of land while the second took place on a street – 30 yards away from the first bombsite.

Police said both were timed devices. No casualties were reported, but the blasts whipped up fear among residents. After the explosions, police mounted a search operation in the area and detained several suspects.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosions.

Balochistan has been plagued by a low-key insurgency since 2004 which became deadlier after the 2006 killing of Jamhoori Watan Party leader and Balochistan’s former governor Nawaz Akbar Khan Bugti.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 29^th, 2015.