At least four policemen were killed and 12 others injured in a blast targeting a police vehicle near a mosque in Quetta city of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, officials said.
The explosion took place on Monday night in the city’s MiniMarket area shortly after the police van arrived at the mosque to providesecurity to the people offering prayers.
The Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibilityfor the blast, just days after its splinter group Hizbul Ahrar claimed theattack on the police guarding Pakistan’s oldest Sufi shrine in Lahore.
“The police vehicle carrying personnel for mosquesecurity was targeted in the blast in which our four personnel of RapidResponse Group (RRG) lost their lives, while the condition of another wasstated to be serious,” Quetta Deputy Inspector General Razzaq Cheema toldthe Dawn newspaper.
He said the bomb was planted in a motorcycle parked closethe police vehicle near the mosque in the Satellite Town. It was detonated witha remote control device.
Many vehicles parked in the area were damaged andwindowpanes of nearby buildings were shattered due to the impact of thepowerful bombing though the mosque remained safe, the report said.
Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a searchoperation to trace the elements involved in the blast.This was the second major terror attack inBalochistan within the last three days, as on Saturday a luxury hotel in Gwadarwas targeted by gunmen. Five people were killed in the incident.