At least 35 injured in Mastung, Gwadar grenade attacks: police
The attack took place in main market of Mastung, Balochistan, police say
October 19, 2017
MASTUNG: At least 35 people were injured in a grenade attacks in Balochistan's Mastung and Gwadar districts on Thursday, according to police.
In Mastung, the attack took place in the main market of the city when unknown miscreants lobbed a hand grenade, police said, adding that it also partially damaged four shops and two vehicles.
Rescue teams immediately rushed to the area and shifted the injured to two local hospitals.
Two of the wounded persons are said to be in critical condition and are being shifted to Quetta.
A large contingent of police and Frontier Corps also reached the vicinity and launched a search operation for miscreants.
In a separate incident in Gwadar district, two motorcyclists hurled a hand grenade near a roadside hotel injuring 20 people.
Many of those injured were labourers who were having after-dinner tea, local police official Imam Bukhsh told AFP.
He added one person sustained serious injuries and his condition was later reported critical.
Balochistan - Pakistan's largest province in terms of land area - has long been plagued by an insurgency and sectarian killings. However, in the recent years, security forces have conducted effective operations cracking down on militants across the province.
Following the beginning of Op Raddul Fasaad, security forces intensified intelligence-based and combing operations in the province in an effort to establish peace in the province.
This has led to a considerable drop in militancy in the province but scattered attacks are still reported at times.
On Wednesday, eight people, including seven policemen, were martyred in provincial capital Quetta.
The attackers rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a truck carrying Elite Force personnel in New Sariab area of the city around 8:30am on Wednesday while it was transporting them for duties.
The incident left over 20 others wounded.
