Tragedy averted: Bomb fails to explode in Quetta market

IED was concealed in tomato crates, says a senior police official.

QUETTA:

Three days after a deadly bombing at the fruit and vegetable market of the federal capital, a small bomb planted in the Fruit Mandi of Quetta luckily failed to explode.

The improvised explosive device (IED) was concealed in tomato crates, a senior police official said. “Only the fuse of the IED went off causing panic and stampede in the market,” SP Mohammad Jaffar told The Express Tribune. He added that investigations were ongoing.

Police and security personnel cordoned off the area soon after they were informed. “Around a dozen crates were destroyed after the detonator went off,” Mohammed Akram, an eyewitness said.

Bomb Disposal Squad officials said the bomb weighed around two kilogrammes. “There have been no casualties because the IED did not explode,” a BDS official said. No group immediately claimed the responsibility for planting the bomb.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2014.