FOUR KILLED IN EXPLOSION NEAR POLICE VEHICLE IN PAKISTAN’S QUETTA

Mon 10 Apr 2023:

At least four people have been killed after a bomb attack targeted a police vehicle in the western Pakistani city of Quetta.

“A police vehicle was targeted in the Qandhari Bazar area of the city. Among the dead, two are police officials whereas one girl and another civilian died,” Waseem Baig, spokesperson for Civil Hospital in the city, told Al Jazeera on Monday, adding that 15 people were injured.

Mitha Khan, a police official present at the hospital, told Al Jazeera that the “vehicle targeted belonged to a senior police official who was on his way to one of the police stations. The senior official is unhurt, but his driver and gunman died in the attack”.

The initial investigation revealed that four to five kilogrammes (nine to 11 pounds) of explosive was placed on a motorcycle, which was detonated by remote control, said Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) spokesman Zohaib Mohsin Baloch.

WATCH: Four killed in explosion near police vehicle in Pakistan’s Quetta #quettablast pic.twitter.com/085DBTkND2

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) April 10, 2023

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to AFP news agency.

The BLA said two police officers were killed because of their involvement “in inhumane treatment of Baloch civilians under the pretext of investigations”.

This is the second attack on Pakistan police in less than 24 hours.

On Sunday evening, armed men targeted personnel of the Police Eagle Squad in Quetta, killing two police officers and injuring another. One of the attackers was killed by police.

Monday’s attack came only days after Pakistan’s top intelligence agency arrested a “high-value target” in an operation against a Baloch rebel group in the province.

In a statement on Friday, the military said the target – Gulzar Imam, also known by the name Shambay – is the founder and leader of the banned Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA), which, according to the army, had been involved in dozens of “terrorist” attacks in the country, including those on security forces.

This year, the group and its factions have unleashed a wave of attacks including a suicide bombing at a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar that killed more than 100 people, mostly policemen.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent