KARACHI: At least 10 people were injured in a blast near a hospital in Quetta in Pakistan’s restive south-western Balochistan province, days after a deadly attack killed 75 people and injured 115 others in the same area.
The bomb was planted along the side of the road and exploded as the Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) vehicle passed by.
According to rescue officials, six civilians and four security officials were injured in a roadside blast targeting a vehicle belonging to the ATF near Al Khair Hospital in Balochistan’s provincial capital, which also shattered windows of nearby buildings, the Dawn reported.
Security forces and a bomb disposal squad reached the scene to collect evidence. Rescue teams moved the injured to nearby hospitals.
Police cordoned off the area as a search operation went underway.
“This is a busy road and the terrorists take advantage of this, planting bombs and fleeing on motorcycles,” said Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, strongly condemning the attack while talking to media at the site of the blast.
“These blasts are aimed at sabotaging Independence Day activities in Balochistan. I believe these cowardly acts will not bring down our morale. We are in a conflict zone and we will fight with renewed resolve,” the Minister said.
“We are reviewing our security measures and you will see changes on the ground,” he said.
The Minister added that three to four kilograms of explosive material was used in the blast, the paper said.
The explosion comes just days after a suicide bombing killed 75 people and injured 115, mostly lawyers and journalists, at the emergency ward of Quetta’s Civil Hospital on Monday.
A combing operation is ongoing throughout Quetta following Monday’s blast.
The Afghan army, he said has also come a long way. “The Afghan fight against the Taliban is going differently than last year. Last year they suffered high casualties (5000 dead, over 14000 wounded) and were in a more reactive mode to the Taliban.
“But at the end of the year, even though they had some tough fights like in Kunduz, they retained control over all the major areas and population centers. Going into 2016, we sought to learn from that and realized the Afghan forces needed to be in a more offensive posture and gain and retain initiative. They developed a plan to do that, called Operation Shafaaq – a series of offensive operations through the country. They started in the north, took Kunduz, then they shifted to Helmand, Uruzgan and Kandahar, then to the east, against Islamic State. They are having greater success this year.”
This is also where India’s training of Afghan security forces is having a huge impact. “This professional training is helping them fill the junior and mid-level ranks who are new to a professional military.”
Bureau Report
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