Targeting Infrastructure: Two killed in railway explosion

QUETTA:

A powerful blast killed two people and blew up a ten-foot portion of the railway track on Saryab Road in Quetta late on Saturday night, police said.

“Unidentified persons attached explosive materials to railway track in Nabiabad, behind Degree College Quetta which went off with a big bang,” said Raja Qayyum, a police official, adding that two people sustained serious injuries. The injured were rushed to Provincial Sandeman Hospital where they died.

The deceased were identified as Sher Zaman and Abdul Mutalib. The victims were the residents of nearby slum locality and were passing through near railway track when blast took place.

As a result of the attack, rail service between Quetta and rest of the country is likely to be disrupted.

“There was no night service at Quetta Railway station, therefore, neither any train coming or going from Quetta,” railway sources said, adding that repair work on the damaged track had started and will likely be completed by Sunday.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.





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