QUETTA: At least five people, including a woman, were killed in a suicide attack targeting a convoy of the paramilitary Frontier Corps and 26 others injured in a busy neighbourhood of Quetta on Saturday morning. “The suicide bomber was waiting near a roadside restaurant. He triggered his explosive vest when the FC vehicle drove past him,” DIG Abdul Razzaq Cheema said. “Apparently, the bomber wanted to target Commandant Colonel Ishtiaq.” The injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta, while those critically injured were shifted to Trauma Centre. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. The intensity of the blast rocked the entire Sariab road area, following which shopkeepers pulled down their shutters. Traffic was also suspended as a result of the blast. Police and FC personnel cordoned off the area as investigation into the blast went underway. Sariab road is considered to be one of the more sensitive areas of Quetta. Miscreants in the area have been targeting security forces, police and officials for more than a decade. Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bhugti inspected the area and said that the security personnel were being punished for protecting the nation. Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri and Governor Mohammad Khan Achakzai condemned the attack. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi denounced the suicide attack. Earlier, Additional Inspector General (AIG) Hamid Shakeel Durrani among three officers embraced martyrdom in a suicide blast in Quetta’s Chaman Housing Scheme. The blast occurred when AIG Hamid was going to office from his house.
Published in Daily Times, November 26th 2017.
