Balochistan suicide attack: Blast kills 10 in Imambargah

QUETTA:

A suicide bombing ripped through an Imambargah in the Kachhi district of Balochistan on Thursday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 13 others, including children.

The bomber attacked the Imambargah, located in the  Bagh tehsil some 300 kilometres from Quetta, just as Maghrib prayers were under  way, medics at a state-run hospital in the area told The Express Tribune.

“Ten people were killed and 13 others were injured in the suicide attack,” confirmed Bagh Tehsildar Ahsan Ali Gola.

According to eyewitnesses, the suicide bomber was a teenager. They said he was clad in a burka when he entered the place of worship. According to sources, an examination of the attacker’s remains suggested he was not a local.

Balochistan Home Minister backed the witness accounts. “The suicide bomber aged 14 to 19 years succeeded in crossing the security check-point outside the imambargah,” he said.

Rescue workers and law enforcement personnel reached the site soon after the incident. The deceased and the injured and were shifted to a hospital. However, the injured victims faced a lot of hardship given the remote nature of the scene of crime and lack of infrastructure.

“There were no ambulances to transport the injured and dead to hospitals,” an eyewitness told The Express Tribune. “The dead and injured were shifted using private vehicles to Dera Murad Jamali, Sibi and Quetta.” A state of emergency has been imposed at the Bagh tehsil hospital.

Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch condemned the attack and vowed not to spare anyone who targets innocent people. He announced Rs1 million in compensation for the relatives of those killed in the attack and Rs500,000 for those wounded.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack till the filing of this report.


Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2015.