FC official escapes bombings but 27 others not so lucky

At least 27 people, including a senior army officer and the wife of another, were killed and some 81 injured in two massive suicide attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on the house of Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan deputy inspector general (DIG) in the centre of Quetta on Wednesday.
Provincial police chief Rao Hashim said FC Balochistan DIG Brigadier Farrukh Shehzad was the prime target of the attack, which could be a reaction to the arrest of three al Qaeda operatives from the city on Monday. Hitting the residence of deputy chief, the bombs wounded him, killed his wife and injured at least one of his children, security officials said.
Police officials quoted eyewitnesses as saying that a suicide bomber was waiting in a small explosive-laden truck some 30 or 40 yards from the DIG’s house. They said when the DIG left the house in his car the truck made a beeline for him but crashed into a civilian car on the way and careered into the wall opposite the DIG’s house. The truck then reversed, rammed into the escort vehicles of the DIG and exploded with a huge blast that was heard across the city. Three FC personnel burned to death when their vehicle caught fire after the blast.Within 10 minutes of the first blast, a second suicide bomber managed to enter the DIG’s house on foot without being noticed in the mayhem and blew himself up after lobbing two hand-grenades and opening fire with a pistol at the guards. The explosion caused massive damage to the house and killed Col Khalid Masood Khan, his cook and several of the guards. Eighteen people were killed on the spot and over a hundred were injured. However, later the death toll rose to 27, including the two suicide bombers, when some of the wounded succumbed to their injuries at the hospital.
TTP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY: The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack. “We carried out the attacks,” TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP in a phone call from an undisclosed location. He said the two bombs were “to avenge the arrest of our mujahideen brothers by Pakistani security forces in Quetta recently”. Asked whether he was referring to the arrests, announced Monday, of Younis al-Mauritani – believed to be a senior al Qaeda leader who had planned attacks abroad – and two others, he said: “Yes. We will launch a bigger attack in future.”
Most of the dead and injured were passersby and schoolchildren. Around a dozen houses, a mosque, eight cars, four rickshaws and three motorcycles were badly damaged. The blast shattered the windows of dozens of vehicles and some 50 buildings, including the Quetta Press Club building.