4 passers-by injured in blast targeting FC vehicle

4-5 kg of explosives used in the blast: Bomb Disposal Squad

PHOTO: FILE

QUETTA:
A Frontier Corps (FC)’s patrolling vehicle was attacked with a remote-controlled cycle bomb on Sariab Road in Quetta on Friday.

The blast left four passers-by injured while FC personnel remain unhurt.

According to Sariab police, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was fitted to a bicycle and parked near a fuel station on Sariab Road near Gahi Khan Chowk.

Miscreants detonated the bomb when a vehicle of paramilitary troops passed by. The FC vehicle was partially damaged in the attack.

“Security personnel who were targeted in the blast are unhurt,” Capital City Police Officer Abdul Razzaq Cheema told the Express Tribune.

The FC vehicle was on routine patrol when the attack took place.

A heavy contingent of police and FC personnel reached the spot and then cordoned off the crime scene.

The injured were shifted to Provincial Sandeman Hospital where they have been identified as Ahmed Ali, Ameer Hamza, Araz Khan and Mohammed Atif Qalandrani. They received multiple splinter wounds but are out of danger.


According to the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS), four to five kilograms of explosive materials were used in the blast.

No group has claimed responsibility for this attack as yet whereas the police and security forces have launched investigations.

Jan Mohammed Buledi, a spokesperson of the provincial government,  said that Balochistan is facing sectarian violence and insurgency.

The religious groups target Shia Muslims while the separatists target security forces and political workers in Balochistan, he said.

“The government is making its utmost efforts to bring peace to the area," he added.

CCPO Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema said he does not know about any operation in Quetta but did say that the police are taking action against criminals.

Previous attack

In August 2013, two persons were killed and another sustained injuries in a blast near Sariab Road, Quetta.

According to the police, unknown persons had planted an Improvised Explosive Device on a road side near Irrigation Colony.