The apparent target of the bombing was the police checkpost. PHOTO: PPI
"The bomb was planted in a motorcycle. One person was killed and 13 were wounded -- all of them were civilians," Shahid Saleem, a police official in Chaman told AFP.
The tally of injured people later rose to 20.
Saleem said the apparent target of the bombing was the police checkpost but policemen there were unhurt.
Two further bombs were found and one exploded while the squad was trying to defuse them.
The second blast took place with a gap of 90 minutes that injured DSP Chaman Gul Mohammed Awan, SHO Saleem Shahid and two constables.
District Police Officer Atif Akram said police found two bombs on Taj Road after the first blast. The second blast took place when police were proceeding towards a suspected motorbike parked along with wall of local court.
Ismail Ibrahim, a senior government official in Chaman, told AFP that the bomb was detonated via remote control.
The injured which includes two children were shifted to a hospital. According to reports, the children were of a shopkeeper who was just closing shop and heading home when the explosion occurred.
“It was a crowded locality and blast took place right after the evening prayers,” police officer said.
Police and rescue teams rushed to the spot soon after the blast and cordoned off the area. The deceased and injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital Chaman for treatment.
According to the hospital sources, two children among four injured are in critical condition and have been referred to Quetta.
According to the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) around three to four kilograms explosive materials were used in the first blast. Three cars were destroyed in blast and windowpanes of the shops and houses were shattered due to the impact of the blast.
DSP and SHO during a search found two suspected motorbikes on Taj Road near local court and went closer to the bikes when blast occurred. The third suspected motorbike was parked near the crime scene and no one went closer. The injured police officers are said to be in critical condition.
District Police Officer said police had the information about a possible suicide attack in Chaman and remained on alert. “We have the information about a suicide bomber who entered to Chaman,” he added.
He said police and security forces have been deployed in the Chaman town and all necessary steps are being taken to control the situation.
No group has yet claimed responsiblity for the attack but Baluchistan, the least developed province of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan and Iran, has been badly hit by a decade-long Baluch separatist insurgency and sectarian violence mainly targeting Shiites muslims from the ethnic Hazara community.
Chaman is one of two major border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan, along with Torkham in the northwest, and is the main land route for NATO supplies crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan.
Previous attacks
The border post in Chaman has been subject frequent bomb attacks, including suicide bombings.
Earlier in November, a motorbike bomb killed three people near Christen Colony in Chaman town.
Police said it was a remote-controlled blast and the explosive material was planted on a motorbike. The injured were passers-by.
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@A J Khan: Exactly, the whole judicial system is the biggest enemy of this country Occasionally, even the police & rangers arrests terrorists and murderers and this effort is put down the drain by courts, who under the cover of "LAW" release them without any hassle. No attention is paid to the national security of this country. I hope the forces do not arrest high value profile criminals instead just kill them in encounter, that is the only way to save this country and its people until a revolution takes these criminal judges and lawyers in its grip and strict laws are applied and death punishment is given to the deserving.
DONT DESPAIR IK to lead mass PTI protest against TTP slaughter of Pakistanis! NOT!
@US CENTCOM: When we have Judges in courts who act as moles of terrorists, we have no one to blame but our self. Our Supreme Court is desperately trying to release terrorists by calling them "Missing Persons"..This gruesome act will not only put the lives of people in danger in Pakistan, but they remain a danger for the world at large. Just in two days militants have kidnapped elected members of local government in Kech and Nasirabad and killed/maimed people in Chamman, but our Judiciary is after the lives of soldiers who are protecting people and the borders.
We send our heartfelt condolences to the victim's family. We also wish a quick and speedy recovery to those who are injured.
Ali Khan DET, United States Central Command