Four, including minor boy, killed in Quetta rocket attack

Four people killed while 18 others injured in a rocket attack in Quetta.

QUETTA:

Four people were killed while 18 others were injured in a rocket attack in Quetta on Wednesday.

“Three rockets fired from a mountainous region landed and exploded in different parts of Quetta, one of which hit a busy roundabout, Saryab Patakh, and caused casualties,” Capital City Police Officer Dawood Junejo told The Express Tribune. The rockets exploded with a gap of two minutes, he added.The busy area has five private hospitals and medical stores.

Four people including a 14-year-old boy were killed in this particular attack while 18 others including a traffic police inspector were injured. They were all taken to Sandeman Hospital where five of the injured were said to be in a critical condition.

“There was a huge traffic jam at the roundabout before the attack, which triggered panic among people,” Mohammad Sadiq, a witness, told The Express Tribune.

Four vehicles, including an official vehicle, were also destroyed in the attack . The second rocket hit a house near Chaman Patak area damaging the roof of the house. No one was hurt in the attack. The third rocket was aimed at a house in Khaliqabad area as a result of which the gate and a car parked inside the house were damaged.

Baloch insurgent groups usually claim responsibility of such attacks however no group had claimed responsibility of Wednesday’s assaults till the filing of this report.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2011.