Blast kills nearly 65, injures over 150 in Quetta

A bomb attack killed 65 people and injured 157 others in Quetta Saturday evening, police said.

Women and children were among the casualties, the city police chief, Mir Zubair told a news conference.

The bomb, concealed in a water tanker in a tractor trolley, exploded in a marketplace and a two-storey building also collapsed, burying several people under the debris.

Police sources and witnesses said that most of the dead were members of Hazara Shia Muslims.

Blast, which jolted the entire city, occurred near the school on Kirani Road in the suburbs of the city.

DIG Investigation Fayaz said that explosives, was planted in a tractor trolley which was parked near the vegetable market on Kirani Road targeting the hazara community.

“Remote- controlled bomb was exploded killing 47 people, including women and children and leaving over 200 others wounded, some of them seriously”, he added.

Several shops, vehicles and other infrastructure was also damaged causing great panic among the area people. Emotionally charged people took to the streets and protested the blast, pelting vehicles with stones. They also blocked roads and resorted to aerial firing.

However, soon after the incident, heavy contingent of police and Frontier Corps reached to the site and threw cordoned around the area. Media personnel were also not allowed by the law enforcers near the blast site confining them at the Kirani Bridge, many yards away from the crime scene.

The dead bodies and injured were moved to Combined Military Hospital
Quetta, Bolan Medical Complex hospital and Civil Hospital. According to the hospital sources, condition of several injured is critical.

Meanwhile, reacting to the incident Majlis-e-Wahdate Muslimeen has given strike call for Sunday while Tahaffuz-e-Azadar Council has announced seven days of mourning to condemn the killing.

Nobody is being allowed to enter the Hazara Town area, however sporadic sounds of gunshots are constantly heard causing panic among the citizen.

Main markets and commercial areas in the city were closed soon after the incident that shock Quetta.

The Hazara Democratic Party announced strike in Quetta on Sunday to condemn the attack on innocent people.

The government also declared one day mourning on Sunday. National flag will fly half mast.

The police also announced a 10 million rupees reward for those who will provide information about the masterminds of the deadly blast.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Feb 16 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.