Balochistan unrest: Blast in Quetta kills three

Of the 20 injured, six are said to be in critical condition.

QUETTA:

Terror revisited Quetta on Wednesday as a bomb explosion in a crowded market left three people dead and around 20 injured.

The blast was followed by the explosion of a CNG cylinder of a vehicle that spread panic in the area. At least two shops, a garage and six vehicles were destroyed, while dozens of shops, buildings and houses were damaged.

According to Balochistan Home Secretary Asad Gilani, around seven kilograms of explosives were used in the improvised explosive device that was rigged on a bicycle parked on the Double Road.

“At least three people died and 20 were injured in the remotely-detonated blast,” Gilani said.



He linked Wednesday’s attack with the October 9 blast outside the City Police Station by the banned Baloch Liberation Army in Quetta, which had killed six and left more than 30 injured, drawing parallels between the two assaults.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti also indicated that separatist groups could be responsible for the blast because the modus operandi of the attack was similar to the one launched earlier.

Law enforcement agencies cordoned off the blast site immediately. However, rescue efforts were hampered by severe traffic jams as paramedics faced difficulty ferrying injured victims to hospitals.

Traffic congestions are common on the Zarghoon Road, since Saryab Railway level crossing has been blocked for the construction of an overhead bridge. On the other hand, it took firefighters around 20 minutes to extinguish the fire.

Quetta Capital City Police Officer Abdul Razzaq ruled out the possibility of sectarian motives.

“Investigations are under way, but initial assessments suggest that it was not a sectarian attack because attackers chose a public place packed with spare parts’ shops and garages,” he said.

The injured were shifted to the Sandeman Hospital, where authorities had declared emergency to cope with the situation. Doctors who have been on strike for more than a month in protest against the  kidnapping of their colleague, called off their strike due to the emergency.

“Three bodies and 20 injured were brought to the hospital,” Dr Shehzad Ahmed told The Express Tribune, adding that six of them had been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital because of the critical nature of their injuries.

The three deceased were identified as Noor Ahmed, Munir and Mir Ahmed, and are said to be daily wagers at garage shops.

So far there have been no claims of responsibility for the attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2013.