QUETTA: A suicide bomber detonated his explosives Sunday near a security checkpoint in Quetta, leaving at least four paramilitary troops dead and wounding 20 others, police said.
The incident happened at about 7:30 am when the bomber hit his explosive-laden motorbike into one of the vehicles of the Frontier Corps convoy on the outskirts of the city, an official at the rescue department of Edhi Foundation said.
Deputy police chief of Quetta, Azhar Akram, said body parts of the attacker were found at a distance from the security post after the bombing.
The injured were shifted to the Sheikh Khalifah Bin Zayyad Hospital. Akram said the number of casualties could rise.
Police said the convoy was assigned to provide security to the Hazara community in the city, and it was on its routine patrolling when it came under attack.
After the investigation, the bomb disposal squad said that about 5 to 6 kg of explosives were used in the attack.
The area was cordoned off for further investigations, and the bomber’s remains were sent for a forensic test.
The Afghanistan-based Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed to have perpetrated the attack after a series of similar assaults on security forces.
Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack, saying in a tweet: “My condolences go to the families of the martyrs & prayers for the recovery of the injured. Salute our security forces & their sacrifices to keep us safe by thwarting foreign-backed terrorists’ designs.”
Opposition leader and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif said he was “grieved to learn about the martyrdom of 3 FC personnel” in the attack.
“I pay my homage to our armed forces for their sacrifices in defending the motherland. My heartfelt condolences go to bereaved families & prayers for early recovery of the injured,” he tweeted.
Condemning the attack and offering condolences to the families of those martyred, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said the “brave security forces continue to thwart the designs of terrorists [especially] the RAW- (Indian intelligence agency) funded TTP.”
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove too strongly condemned the attack and asked authorities to submit a report in this regard.
“Security forces have given countless sacrifices in the war against terrorism,” he said, adding that the war would continue until total peace was achieved.
“The whole nation is indebted to the martyrs. We are fighting the terrorists with our full strength and will continue to do so. These violent attacks will not lower the morale of the forces,” he stressed.
The province has seen an uptick in violence in recent months, with incidents of terrorism targeting both civilians and security forces.
Last month, three Levies troops were killed and as many injured when their vehicle hit a landmine in the Ziarat district of the province.
