10 killed, 30 injured in Quetta blast

QUETTA: Ten people were killed and over 30 others injured when a powerful car bomb went off on the Arbab Karam Khan Road in the provincial capital on Friday night.

Police said that the blast ripped through the residence of Shafeeq Mengal, the son of former Balochistan former chief minister Mir Muhammad Naseer Mengal. Twenty injured were taken to the Civil Hospital and CMH for treatment. The hospitals’ sources said that the condition of some of the injured was precarious.

According to preliminary investigations, the bomb was planted in a car. As the explosion took place at about 7:16pm, its thud was heard several kilometres away. The windowpanes of nearby buildings were smashed, and people were seen running here and there soon after the blast.

The police and bomb disposal squads reached the spot and started a probe into the matter. The defunct Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the blast in calls made by its spokesman to the media offices.

APP adds: Thirteen people were killed and 30 others injured in a car bomb blast on the Arbab Karam Khan Road in the provincial capital on Friday night.

Earlier, CCPO Quetta Ahsan Mehboob said that eight people were killed and 20 others were injured in the blast. Later, hospital sources said that the death toll had reached 13 while 30 others, including two children, were injured. They added that six of the injured were in critical condition.

DIG Operation Quetta Nazir Ahmed Kurd, confirming the death of 13 people in the explosion, said about 40-50 kg explosives were packed in a car that was parked near the house of ex-minister Mir Naseer Mengal.

“They detonated the vehicle after one hour when Shafeeq Mengal reached the house from Khuzdar district,” the DIG operations said adding that the ex-state minister, his son and other family members were safe. Armed guards did not allow media teams and police to stand near the house of the former minister. The personnel of law enforcement agencies, including Frontier Corps and police, cordoned off the entire area. Police sources said that explosive material was also planted in another vehicle parked there though it could not explode. The bomb disposal squad reached the site and defused it.