QUETTA: An explosion near the secured Police Lines neighbourhood in Quetta has resulted in at least five individuals being treated for wounds at the Civil Hospital, according to rescue officials.
The incident prompted a prompt response from the local police and emergency teams, who have cordoned off the area.
At present, the cause of the blast remains unknown, with no official statement from the police, amid a rise in attacks in the past several months.
However, the banned group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack and indicated that security personnel were the intended target.
The explosion comes as Pakistan reels from a deadly suicide bombing at a mosque located inside a similar high-security police compound in Peshawar. At least 100 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in the deadliest attack in a decade.
A commander of the TTP claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack in which almost all the victims were police officials.
The Pakistan Taliban has been blamed for more than 100 attacks since walking out of a ceasefire with Pakistan last November.
