Shias targeted in Quetta, Kohat bombings; 11 dead
05 October, 2014
QUETTA/KOHAT: At least 11 Shias, including two women, were killed and 23 others were injured after separate bombings occurred in Quetta's Hazara Town and Kohat on Saturday. "People were busy in shopping near the intersection of Eid Bazaar in Aliabad when a suicide bomber struck with huge explosion," Hazara Town Station House Officer Azher Hussain told our sources. "At least five people have been killed while more than a dozen were wounded," he said. The cop said the victims were Shias. He said that the terrorists targeted the Eid bazaar. "More than hundred people were present when blast occurred," Hussain said. Quetta Police Chief Abdul Razaq Cheema confirmed the suicide attack and said the attacker blew himself up on the street after failing to enter Aliabad chowk. "Police have found the head and remains of the suicide bomber and the Bomb Disposal Squad has told me that 5 to 7 kg explosives were used in the bombing," Cheema added. "The bodies and injured were taken to Combined Military Hospital and the provincial government has imposed emergency in all hospitals," Home Secretary Akber Durrani told our sources. "Security has already been beefed up in Quetta but we are investigating that how the bomber entered inside Hazara Town despite tightened security measures," Durrani said, adding that law enforcers cordoned off the area and collected evidence from the scene. "The death toll may rise. Children and women are among those injured," a rescue worker said. "Four bodies and several injured were brought here," a doctor at BMC said. "There was a huge crowd mostly women and children were busy in shopping for Eidul Adha when the blast happened," Zulfiqar, a witness, said. The Hazaras staged a protest demonstration against the suicide attack and blocked traffic by burning tires. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Mamnoon Hussain have condemned the attack and directed the Balochistan government to take action against the terrorists. A Balochistan government spokesman said that it was a conspiracy to disturb the peace of Quetta. "The government condemned the killings and directed the law enforcing agencies to investigate the incident," he said. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing so far. Separately, as many as 8 persons, including a three-year-old girl, were wounded in a remote-controlled bombing on Spini Road in Quetta. According to police, a box carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) was placed on the road near Bakra Mandi. "The miscreants detonated the bomb when Pashtoonabad DSP Naeem Khan's vehicle came near," said Aitzaz Ahmed, SSP operations. He confirmed that eight people were wounded while the police mobile escaped unhurt in the explosion. "All the victims were passersby. Three-year-old Habiba Khan, teens Kifayatullah, Naik Muhammed and Watiullah were among the injured. The DSP was not the specific target," Ahmed said. Meanwhile, six people were killed and several others injured in a bombing close to a passenger van in Kohat, local police confirmed. "The blast occurred at a bus stop in Kohat city where Suzuki vans carry passengers to nearby areas," District Police Officer Salim Khan Marwat told reporters. At least two vehicles were damaged in the explosion, he added. He also said, "The explosion has left six people dead and 17 injured." No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far. KP Governor Sardar Mehtab Abbasi and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak condemned the bombing. The KP government has also announced compensation for the grieving families. End.
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