QUETTA: A suicide attacker blew himself outside an imambargah in Bolan’s Goth Chalghari area on Thursday, killing at least 10 people and injuring many others.“At least 10 people were killed and 12 others were wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up at an imambargah,” said Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti. Local administration official Mohammad Waseem confirmed the attack and the death toll. Bugti said there were six children between 10 and 12 years old among the dead and that some women had also died. He added that the death toll may rise. Waseem said the suspected suicide bomber appeared to be about 18 years old and was wearing a woman’s burqa.
Rescue workers and people of the area faced difficulties in shifting the injured to hospital. There is reportedly only one basic health unit in the vicinity, that too without a qualified doctor and proper health facilities. More than a dozen people were injured in the blast, which rocked the village located in interior Balochistan. Security forces reached the bomb blast site and cordoned off the area. According to initial police investigation, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside an imambargah in Goth Chalghari area of Tehsil Bhag in Bolan District.
The injured would be shifted to Sibi Civil Hospital for medical treatment. Security has been increased in and around the locality after the bomb, with contingents of FC and police patrolling different areas. Earlier in the week, a blast in a local bus killed at least 10 people, two of them children, on Sariab Road. Twenty-two people were injured, six of them seriously. Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch had condemned the blast and said, “I am personally monitoring the situation.” Preparations were made to ensure that the Muharram passes incident-free and security plans to ensure the safety of processions were finalised.
At least 11 people were killed and 22 others injured in an explosion inside a passenger bus at Quetta’s Sariab Road on Monday. Police surgeon Dr Noor Baloch confirmed the deaths, saying eight of the injured are said to be in critical condition. IG Balochistan Almish Khan said the bomb was a timed device and planted on the roof of the overcrowded bus. “It weighed four to five kilogrammes,’ he said. “Most of the victims were sitting at the backseats when the device exploded,” Mohammad Idress, an injured person told the media at Civil Hospital. Passengers in the front row suffered minor injuries, he added. Being the last bus to travel to the commercial district during the day, the bus was overcrowded with passengers on the rooftop as well.
Many among the dead were on the roof, who suffered deep splinter wounds. The explosion occurred inside a local city bus in the Dukani Baba Chowk area on Saryab Road. Up to 40 passengers were on board the bus at the time of the bombing. Rescue personnel confirmed that two children were among the dead. “More than 20 people have been injured,” said Javed Gharheen, a senior police official. All the injured were shifted to Quetta Civil Hospital, where an emergency had been declared. Six of the injured were in critical condition, according to rescue personnel.