Blast in Quetta kills 3

Three people were killed and five were injured when a blast occurred at the finance minister's house.

QUETTA: Three people were killed and five were injured in an explosion which took place at Railways Housing Society in Quetta on Thursday.

Quetta City Police Chief Abid Hussain Nautkani confirmed that the explosion took place adjacent to the house of Balochistan provincial finance minister Asim Kurd Ghilo.

As a result of the explosion, the house also caught fire but flames were controlled well in time.

The minister was not at his house at the time the blast occurred. He was at the Civil Secretariat in Quetta.

Three people, identified as Usman, Ibrahim and Saeed were critically injured and had been taken to Civil Hospital Quetta for treatment

The 15kg bomb was planted in a vehicle parked inside the minister's residential compound, Inspector General Malik Muhammad Iqbal said.

The explosive device is reported to have been planted inside a water tanker that was delivering water to the minister's house. The explosion occurred when the tanker was inside the house of the minister.

The attack took place in the wake of the recent measures that have been taken by the government to initiate targeted operations in Balochistan.