Terror strike: 13 wounded in Quetta IED blast

Bomb went off when Kandhari bazar was crowded.

QUETTA:

At least 13 people, including a child, were wounded on Sunday in an explosion in Quetta’s Kandhari Bazar area – a bustling shopping district.

According to officials, the Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which was placed near sewage line, went off when the bazar was crowded with shoppers. At least two shoppers, who were injured in the explosion, are said to be in critical condition at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH).

“Around half kilogrammes explosive materials were wrapped in a plastic bag placed near an open sewage line in front of a shoe shop in Kandahari Bazaar,” Mohammed Jaffar, a senior police officer told The Express Tribune.

“It is premature to comment on who is behind the gruesome attack during the holy month of Ramazan,” Jaffar said, adding that no group has claimed responsibility so far.

“Investigations are underway to trace the perpetrators behind the attack,” the officer added.

Commenting on the incident, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Quetta, Abdul Razzaq said that the bomb used in the explosion was a Russian pencil device.

Shortly after the explosion, rescue workers, police and paramilitary troops reached the site and cordoned off the area.

Panic gripped the area after the loud blast, which shattered glass windows of shops located in the commercial hub. A plume of smoke went up in the air, said an eyewitness.

The injured were shifted to Provincial Sandeman Hospital Quetta for treatment where a state of emergency was declared to deal with the aftermath of the bombing.

“At least 13 injured were brought to Hospital, two of them are in critical condition,” medics at the hospital said while speaking on condition of anonymity. No dead body was brought to the hospital, they added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2014.