Casualties: Roadside explosions injure eight in Dera Bugti

District becoming increasingly unsafe due to landmines.

QUETTA:

Three separate landmine explosions rocked the district of Dera Bugti on Thursday, injuring at least eight people, including three women and a child. 

District Police Officer (DPO) Dera Bugti, Bahsir Ahmed Asar, informed The Express Tribune that two Balochistan Levies officials and six civilians, including three women and a young child, were injured as a result of the explosions.

According to reports, the first incident took place when a motorcycle of a Balochistan Levies official rode over a landmine in the Thelapar area of Dera Bugti. Resultantly three people, including two Levies personnel sustained serious injuries.

After the incident, Levies force reached the scene of the blast and cordoned off the area. The injured were taken to a private hospital for treatment. The injured officials were identified as Sher Khan and Khan Mohammad.

In the second incident, a family was injured when they stepped over a landmine in the Behkar area. Three women and a child sustained injures as a result. Levies officials said that the injured belonged to the Yar Khan family and were residents of Behkar.

Meanwhile, a man was injured in landmine blast in Shahmassar area of Dera Bugti. According to the DPO, a man identified as Abdullah was travelling on foot when he stepped on the landmine. He was shifted to a hospital for treatment after sustaining serious injuries.

No group has claimed responsibility for the landmines. Three cases against unidentified men have been registered and investigations are underway.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2012.