Islamabad: A powerful blast in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province killed at least seven people including five children and left 17 others injured on Friday.
The improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeted a polio vaccination camp and was kept in a motorcycle at the time of detonation. The explosion took place at 8:35 am near a girls’ high school at Civil Hospital Chowk in Mastung district, according to media reports.
“It was an IED (improvised explosive device) used in the blast, and the target apparently was a police mobile parked near the school,” Kalat Division Commissioner Naeem Bazai told PTI.
The official said the bomb attached to a motorcycle went off when it came close to a police mobile van. The police vehicle and several autorickshaws were destroyed in the explosion which carried a powerful impact, hitting the children attending the school at the time.
Besides the children, the two deceased have been identified as a police official and a civilian. The explosion also injured 17 people, including schoolchildren aged 8 to 13 and several policemen. Umrani added that 11 of the injured were transported to the Quetta Trauma Centre for treatment.
Balochistan Chief Minister condemned the blast, calling it “inhumane”. In a post on X, he said terrorist have now resorted to targeting “innocent children and poor labourers” as he referred to the recent attack by gunmen at a dam construction site in the Panjgur district. Five workers were killed in the attack.
Following the blast, an emergency was declared at all hospitals in Quetta, according to Geo News, citing a provincial health department spokesperson. All doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and other medical staff were called in.
