At least 12 people injured in Quetta as explosion targets police patrol

A bomb blast targeting a police mobile in Quetta’s Bhosa Mandi area along the Eastern Bypass has wounded 12 people, including two police officers.

Authorities suspect that the explosive device was planted in the motorcycle, according to Express News

According to police reports, the explosion that occurred near the police vehicle, wrecked a motorcycle that was found at the scene.

Rescue officials quickly transported the injured to the Civil Sandeman Hospital, while a bomb disposal squad reached the blast site and cordoned off the area as a probe into the incident went under way.

The nature and motive of the explosion is yet to be determined. No group or individual claimed responsibilty for the attack.

This incident comes just two days after a similar attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district, where a remote-controlled bomb targeted a police van guarding a convoy of foreign envoys.

In that attack, one officer was killed, and four others were injured, though the envoys were safely evacuated to Islamabad.

The rise in violent attacks in Pakistan, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, has been alarming since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021.

According to data from the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), the number of attacks in these regions surged from 38 in July to 59 in August, with 29 incidents reported in KP and 28 in Balochistan.

In response to the growing threat, the federal government approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam in June, a renewed national counter-terrorism initiative aimed at eradicating terrorism under the National Action Plan.

Earlier this week, in a tragic incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district, a police officer was killed and three others injured due to an explosion on Malam Jabba Road, according to police reports.