BLA claims killing 9 in Quetta blast

QUETTA: A powerful carbomb blast Friday killed nine and injured 21 people includig children in Quetta, Geo News reported.

The banned militant outfit, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), has taken the credit for the deadly blast.

The blast ripped through the residential neighborhood setting many houses on fire.

Reportedly the house of former federal minister Naseer Mengal's son Shafiq Mengal on Arbab Karam Khan Road near Raisani Chowk was the target.

Emergency was declared in the area in the wake of the blast, the bang of which was heard miles away. Such was the intensity of the explosion that most of the windowpanes in the nearby housing blocks and market place fell apart.

A senior police official, while talking to Geo News feared a sharp rise in the death toll.

Police suspect a 'Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device' (VBIE) planted in a car parked nearby was the cause of the blast.

Bomb disposal squad says around 50 kilogrammes of explosive was used in the blast.

Ambulances are doing rounds between the hospitals and the blast site.

Firefighters also reached site of tragedy and were busy fighting flames.

Two of the injured are in critical condition, rescue sources told Geo News.

A shootout between unknown gunmen and police was also reported after the blast. Eyewitnesses say some armed men who were already there opened fire at police and media who arrived on the scene. Unruly gunmen also manhandled a private TV channel's cameramen and broke his camera down. Moreover, a news agency photographer also received bullet wounds.

The area has been cordoned off and investigation is underway.