Blast kills one, injures 13 in Quetta

QUETTA-

One person was killed while at least 13 others were wounded on Thursday in a remote-controlled bombing in a commercial area of Balochistan’s capital of Quetta, private media reported.

According to police and rescue officials, the explosion occurred at Sirki Road in Old Vegetable Market area close to a commercial marketplace during morning rush hour.

Police said a man died on the spot while 10 other people, including two schoolchildren, were injured in the powerful blast that damaged three vehicles and windowpanes of nearby shops.

The school van these children were boarding also damaged. The injured were shifted to civil hospital where one of them is reported to be critical.

Police and FC forces cordoned off the scene in the area where vehicles of security forces have often been targeted in the recent past.

Home Secretary Balochistan Akbar Durrani said the bomb was planted in a car and blasted by remote control. “We are investigating it and will chase after the culprits,” he said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility.

Terrorists in the province have recently intensified attacks against security forces, ethnic minorities and outsiders.