Terror devours 12 in Quetta, KP bombings

• Suicide bomber kills six in Quetta’s Hazara Town
• IED explosions kill six in Kohat, injure nine in Quetta’s Spini Road, destroy vehicle while targeting peace committee member in Tank

Terrorists rocked the country Saturday with four powerful explosions in Quetta, Kohat and Tank areas, killing around 12 people and injuring around two dozen others.

In a suicide attack, minority Hazara Shia community was targeted in Quetta’s Hazara Town where around six people were killed and several others were injured.

According to Quetta Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Abdul Razaq Cheema, the suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded area of Hazara Town where people were shopping for Eid.

Hazara Town is a locality populated mainly by the ethnic Hazara Shia minority which has been targeted by extremist militant groups.

According to Balochistan government spokesman Jan Muhammad Buledi, emergency was imposed in all government-run hospitals soon after the blast which was heard far and wide, causing panic among the people.

The blast was followed by aerial firing in the area where shopkeepers pulled down their shutters in panic. The injured were taken to the Bolan Medical Complex Hospital and Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for treatment.

The explosion was the second bomb attack in the city in a day as earlier nine people, including a child, were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded at Spini Road.

Police said militants had planted an IED weighing 35 to 40 kilogrammes in a vehicle loaded with fruits which was parked on the roadside. They said that the vehicle of Pashtoonabad Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Naeem Achakzai appeared to be the target.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in Quetta on the eve of Eidul Azha. According to sources, the Home Ministry has finalised security arrangements and an extensive security plan has been chalked out. More than 500 police officers would be deployed to avoid any mishap on the occasion of Eid in Quetta.

KOHAT VAN EXPLOSION KILLS SIX:

Earlier in the day, as many as six people were killed and several others injured in an explosion in a passenger van at Kohat’s Peshawar Chowk. Two passenger vans were completely destroyed in the blast in which five kilogrammes of explosives were used, police sources said.

Three people were killed instantly in the explosion while three others succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. The police said that around 13 injured people were in the hospital with some being medically critical.

“The blast occurred at a small bus stop in Kohat city. At least two vehicles were damaged in the explosion,” Salim Khan Marwat, district police chief in Kohat, said. “The explosion has left six people dead and 17 injured,” he added.

Fazal Khaliq, head of the emergency department at Kohat’s main government hospital, also confirmed the toll.

AMAN COMMITTEE LEADER ATTACKED:

Moreover, in Tank, a peace committee leader was attacked with a remote-controlled bomb.

According to sources, committee leader Sherpao Mehsud’s car was ambushed with a remote-controlled bomb in the suburban area of Kot Azam in Tank. His car was destroyed in the attack, however, he remained safe, sources added.