Targeted again: IED explodes inside Pindi-bound Jaffar Express

No casualties reported, BRA claims responsibility

QUETTA:

A remote-controlled bomb exploded inside a compartment of the Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar Express passenger train at Sibi railway station Monday afternoon. However, no loss of life was reported.

According to the Sibi police, unknown militants planted an improvised explosive device (IED) inside the bathroom of the AC apartment coach No 8. The blast damaged the bathroom and caused panic among the passengers who started running aimlessly. “Less than half a kilogramme was used in the bombing,” District Police Officer Anwar Khithran told reporters. The train was stopped at the station after the blast and the police and security forces cordoned off the area.

However, three people were reportedly injured but were discharged after getting first aid. The passenger train left for its destination after security clearance.

Banned Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed responsibility for the incident. BRA spokesperson Sarbaz Baloch telephoned Quetta Press Club and admitted that his organisation carried out the attack.

Passenger trains are frequently attacked at Sibi railway station by Baloch militants. At least 16 people were killed in a deadly bombing aimed at Jaffar Express on April 8.

One dead, 16 hurt in grenade attack on hotel

One man was killed and 16 others were wounded on Monday when assailants lobbed a hand grenade into a restaurant situated on Prince Road, Quetta.

Nimat Kada, a famed breakfast joint in Quetta, was packed with diners at 11:00am when the grenade exploded inside the premises.

Rescue workers and personnel of law enforcing agencies rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area. The deceased and the injured have been transported to the Provincial Sandeman Hospital Quetta.

“A man died, while 16 others [have been] wounded. Two [of the] injured are in a critical condition,” Capital City Police Officer Abdul Razzaq Cheema told The Express Tribune.

“It was a Russian-made hand grenade, and a militant group could be responsible for the attack,” Cheema added.

The windowpanes of hotels and restaurants nearby were shattered due to the impact of the blast, which also resulted in a stampede near the hotel after the explosion.

Quetta police chief said security in the city had already been increased due to the upcoming death anniversary of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, who was killed along with more than 30 comrades in a military operation near Kohlu and Dera Bugti on August 26, 2006.

The police chief said that militants usually intensify their attacks during these days. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack as yet.

Cheema said an improvised explosive device (IED) and two hand grenades were seized during a search operation in Saryab area.

“Police are on high alert in Quetta, and police and Balochistan Levies personnel are also deployed in mountainous areas,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2014.