One dead in Quetta market explosion: police

QUETTA: One person has died and three others have been critical after a remote-controlled explosion went off in the Hazarganji neighbourhood of Quetta late on Saturday, police said. 

The injured also included two policemen, Shabbir Hussain Turi, a local journalist, tweeted. According to him, the deceased died in the hospital where he was taken following the explosion.

The police said the bomb was planted in a motorcycle parked near Hazarganji market. The blast caused damage to nearby shops and vehicles parked there, they added.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

On receiving information, rescue workers rushed to the area and shifted the injured to Civil Hospital.

A contingent of security forces also reached the area and cordoned it off to collect evidence.

In a statement condemning the attack, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo prayed for the early recovery of the wounded.

Bizenjo also directed authorities concerned to tighten security in the provincial capital, especially around all Shi'ite religious sites and near procession routes.