Balochistan, February 5: Pakistan's Quetta is slowly becoming the centre of terrorist attacks, as two security personnel were injured in a bomb blast at the Quetta-Sibi national highway in Bolan district, the Dawn reported.
On Saturday, officials said the personnel of Frontier Corps was escorting the vehicle of an officer when the blast took place near Sirajabad. The injured security personnel were moved to district hospital Dhadar.
Security forces arrived at the scene and cordoned off the area. A search operation has been launched to trace the perpetrators, according to Dawn.
Meanwhile today, another explosion took place near Pakistan's Quetta Police Lines area in which at least five people were injured. Quetta Blast: At Least Five Injured in Explosion in Police Lines Area, Casualties Feared (Watch Video).
Edhi worker Zeeshan Ahmed, who was leading the rescue operations on the site, said the injured were moved to the Civil Hospital in Quetta. Ahmed informed that police and emergency teams have arrived at the spot and the area has been cordoned off.
Police haven't issued any statement and the nature of the blast is not clear at the moment, the Dawn reported. Further, according to the report, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. The group claimed that security officials were targeted in the blast, the Dawn reported.
In the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police on Wednesday staged a protest against the rising incidents of terrorism in the province. The local police force staged a protest in front of the Peshawar Press Club. It was the first such protest by the police in the history of the province.
Videos shared on social media showed groups of police officers raising slogans against rising terrorist incidents. On January 30, a suicide bomber blew himself up in Peshawar's Police Lines mosque, a heavily guarded facility at about 1 pm during Zohr prayers, resulting in a portion of the roof caving in on devotees offering prayers at the time.
Video of Blast at Quetta-Sibi National Highway
After Peshawar Blast…Now a huge Bomb Blast has been reported in Quetta Pakistan. Many injured and feared dead…#QuettaBlast #Pakistan #Blast #Quetta pic.twitter.com/KXdGVVslSa
— Jyot Jeet (@activistjyot) February 5, 2023
The death toll from the blast rose to 100 as the rescue operation to retrieve bodies from the debris of the mosque concluded on Tuesday, Geo News reported.
The count of the injured from the deadly suicide blast reached at least 221.
According to Mohammad Asim, the spokesperson for the primary medical facility, Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, approximately 100 bodies were taken to the facility and 53 patients were being treated, reported Geo News.
KP's caretaker CM revealed that an inquiry committee has been constituted to identify those responsible for the attack. Geo News reported, citing Rescue 1122's spokesperson, that the rescue operation to retrieve bodies from the debris of the mosque finally concluded.
Speaking at a press conference alongside KP CM Azam Khan, Inspector-General Moazzam Jah Ansari said about 10-12 kgs of explosives were used in the blast. Admitting there had been a security lapse, he said investigations were underway to ascertain the facts, Geo News reported. Pakistan Bomb Blast: PM Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir Reach Peshawar for Emergency Meeting.
According to security officials, the suicide bomber was in the front row during the prayers when he blew himself up. The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) initially claimed responsibility for the attack but later denied any hand.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)