QUETTA: At least four people — including two police personnel — were martyred and 22 injured in separate blasts targeting the police on Monday, officials said.
The first blast occurred near a police vehicle parked next to Qandahari Bazaar on Shahrah-i-Iqbal, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Captain (retd) Zohaib Mohsin, who also confirmed the deaths of the two police officers in the attack.
“The explosives were planted in a motorcycle,” he said, adding that the injured also included women and children.
“According to initial information, three to four kilogrammes of explosives were used in the blast,” the police official said. “Due to the blast, two vehicles, including the police van, were damaged.”
TV footage showed a damaged police automobile surrounded by a number of personnel. Several ambulances were also seen leaving the site of the explosion.
The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the banned militant Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group.
Separately, Baig confirmed that four people were injured in a second attack at Munir Mengal Road. SSP Mohsin said Sariab Station House Officer (SHO) Ehsanullah Marwat’s vehicle was targeted at Munir Mengal Road near Sariab Phatak.
He said two passers-by were injured in the blast from an improvised explosive device and were taken to Civil Hospital for treatment. Mohsin said that the SHO and other police personnel with him were inspecting officers stationed at Munir Mengal Road on their duties and were not present in the vehicle during the time of the blast.
The SSP added that the bomb disposal squad and a heavy police contingent reached the scene and were collecting evidence. He said that initial findings showed that the blast was carried out through remote-controlled detonation with 1.5-2kgs of explosive material used.
A day earlier, two cops were martyred and one was injured in an attack by unknown assailants in the Killi Spine area of the Kuchlak district.
The policemen, who belonged to the Eagle Squad, were patrolling on a motorcycle when the assailants opened indiscriminate fire, leaving three injured. Quetta DIG Ghulam Azfar Maheser had confirmed that the cops were targeted by terrorists.
