Suicide attack in Quetta kills 55

A suicide attack on a procession at Meezan Chowk in Quetta has killed 45 people and left over 100 injured.


Express/ali Syed September 03, 2010

QUETTA: A suicide attack on an Al-Quds day procession of the Imamia Student Organisation (ISO) at Meezan Chowk in Quetta on Friday killed 55 people and injured over 100 others.

The casualty figure is expected to rise due to the intensity of the explosion as around 2,500 people were present in the rally.

According to Express 24/7 correspondent Muhammad Kazim, it is not yet clear whether it was a suicide attack or a planted bomb. The fire brigade reached the area and are trying to extinguish the fire, while ambulances have moved several injured to Combined Military Hospital, Quetta District Hospital and Civil Hospital.

An Express News cameraman, a Dawn News cameraman and a Geo News cameraman were also injured in the explosion.

There were also reports of aerial firing by the police in the area, as angry protesters hampered police access to the spot.

This event came two days after the triple blasts in Lahore at the Yaum-i-Shahadat Ali (RA) procession that killed 37 people and injured hundreds.

This is also the third incident of terrorism today, the first being the blast in Mardan followed by an explosion in Peshawar.

Al-Quds Day is an annual event on the last Friday of Ramadan,expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and opposing Zionism as well as Israel's control of Jerusalem.

The Balochistan Shia conference has announced 40 days of mourning for those who died in the blast.

Al-Quds rally in Karachi

The Al Quds rally that held in Karachi went on peacefully on Friday. Security was extremely tight in the city and all entry and exit points were to the rally were blocked .

Along with the Police and the Rangers ISO officials were also carrying out the checking of the people present.

According to Express 24/7 correspondant Sheheryar Mirza, the procession that started from Mazar-i-Quaid and reached its destination at Tibet center, comprised of thousands of participatants.

The security was tightened in the wake of the Lahore blast as well as the firing incident in Karachi that occurred on the Yaum-i-Shahadat Ali (RA).

COMMENTS (46)

Aslam Khan | 13 years ago | Reply lets be fair to all. 1. this was a grue some act by the suicide bomber. the sponcers are surely the residents of hell. none can dare call such shameful act as islamic. 2. our shia brothers are requested to be pragmatic. the security situation in the country is so bad. why should they expose them selves to such a situation. in quetta, police had clearly requested them to limit themselves to a certain area, however their leaders in bravado broke the police corden and exposed these people to death and destruction. 3. those who were in the procession started firing after the suicide blast. this added to further casualties. this can be seen in the tv footages. 4. every year the lives and properties of the bussiness community and residents who happen to be pashtuns of the area are put on stake by such like processions. such like acts will further put the peace of the area at stake.
Tauseef | 13 years ago | Reply Has any jamat-e-Islami or a Sunni Muslim issued a fatwa that such suicide bombers would go to Hell? I guess not.
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