Vicious cycle: Bomb tears through vegetable market in Sibi

Four passersby killed, 19 wounded in the attack which went unclaimed by any group

QUETTA:

A low-intensity bomb ripped through a vegetable market in a central Balochistan district Sunday morning, killing four passersby and injuring over a dozen more. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack that took place on Chakar Khan Road in Sibi city, 30 kilometres southeast of the provincial capital.

“The bomb was strapped to a bicycle parked in front of a tea shop in the vegetable market,” Mohammad Asif Khojak, SHO Sibi police station, told The Express Tribune by phone. Khojak confirmed the casualties, saying that all the victims were passersby. “Two motorcycles were also damaged in the explosion,” he said.

An expert of the Bomb Disposal Squad added that it was a timed device and weighed around one kilogramme.

“Since it was Sunday, the vegetable market was crowded with shoppers,” resident Muhammad Saleem said. SHO Khojak, however, believes the market was not the target. An investigator told The Express Tribune that the perpetrators intended to whip up fear and panic among residents.

Rescuers said four people died on the spot while another 19 were wounded. The casualties were driven to the Combined Military Hospital in Sibi where two of the dead were identified as Ali Nawaz and Wali Muhammad. Medics said three of the injured received life-threatening wounds.

No group immediately claimed credit for the deadly blast. However, Baloch separatist groups have carried out such attacks in the past. Several groups have been waging an insurgency since 2004 demanding greater autonomy. Balochistan is the largest province in terms of landmass but people here have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its natural resources.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is currently touring the United Kingdom, expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the Sibi blast. While extending condolences to the bereaved families, the prime minister sought a report into the incident, his office said in a statement.

Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch announced monetary compensation of Rs1 million for the heirs of the deceased and Rs50,000 each for the injured.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2015.