Terror attack: Four wounded in blast in Chaman market

Police deny security forces were the target

QUETTA:

At least four people were injured in a roadside blast in Chaman, a town that shares a border with Afghanistan, a police official said on Monday.

The bombing appeared to target patrol vehicles of paramilitary troops in Fauji Market on The Mall Road, as it took place minutes after such vehicles passed the market.

An improvised explosive device (IED) was fitted onto a motorcycle that was parked along the road. “The explosion injured four people and destroyed a rickshaw,” said SHO Chaman police station Shahid Saleem. “The terrorists did not use ball bearings or else there would have been more fatalities,” Saleem said, adding that around two kilos of explosives were used in the explosion.

The market was closed soon after the blast. Police and security forces sealed off the area. The injured were taken to Civil Hospital Chaman where one person was discharged after first aid.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 12^th, 2014.