Truck explosion kills at least seven in Pakistan
The blast ripped through the truck carrying police recruits, five of whom were killed along with two passers-by, in southwestern city of Quetta, officials say.
Investigators collect evidence from a burnt police truck after a the blast on October 18, 2017.
An explosion ripped through a police truck on Wednesday killing at least seven people in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta, police said.
The attack claimed by Pakistani Taliban killed five police officials and two passers-by on the outskirts of the city of Quetta, police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said.
He said 24 people were wounded, many of them critically.
The Pakistani Taliban or Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella of various militant groups within Pakistan who claim allegiance to the Afghan Taliban, issued a statement saying the attack was a "suicide mission."
Balochistan has been rocked by violence and separatist insurgency for over a decade.
The group of elite police were targeted on the Sariab Road in the outskirts of Quetta, capital of Balochistan province, as they headed to work
"It was a suicide blast," provincial home minister Sarfraz Bugti said, adding that a car rammed the police vehicle before catching fire.
Today's Quetta attack is 3rd in the last month. Policemen & Hazaras, primary targets. Enemy's preferred tool obvious: divide & de-state.
— Mosharraf Zaidi (@mosharrafzaidi) October 18, 2017
Restive region
Television broadcast images of the burned-out remains of the vehicle in the capital of Balochistan province.
Balochistan has been rocked by violence on two fronts for over a decade.
As well as the Taliban and other militants, Balochistan separatists mount attacks on targets linked to the central government.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.