Bomb blast in Pakistan kills 21, injures 30, reports say

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
9 Nov 2024 10:02

The death toll may rise further as several of the injured are in critical condition.

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Security officials examine the site of a bomb explosion at a railway station in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, on November 9, 2024. (AP)

A bomb explosion near a railway station in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's Balochistan province, resulted in at least 21 deaths and 30 injuries, according to Geo News.

The blast, which is suspected to be a suicide attack, is still under investigation, as stated by local police officer Muhammad Baloch.

The explosion occurred at 9:00 a.m. local time (04:00 GMT) on Saturday just as the Jaffer Express train was about to depart from Quetta to Peshawar, railway officials reported.

The death toll may rise further as several of the injured are in critical condition. Police and rescue teams have arrived at the scene, and emergency protocols have been activated at Quetta's civil hospital, the report added.

39 killed in southwest Pakistan in three 'coordinated attacks'

In August, gunmen shot and killed at least 39 people in "coordinated attacks" in southwest Pakistan.

In one of the attacks, dozens of militants stopped vehicles traveling on a highway through Balochistan province in the Musakhail district and shot 23 people dead – one of the worst shootings in the region in the past several years.

At the time, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active militant separatist group in the province, claimed responsibility for an overnight operation in a statement sent to AFP.

Government officials have reported deadly attacks in at least three districts in impoverished Balochistan.

Najibullah Kakar, a senior official in Musakhail, told AFP that the militants stopped several buses, trucks, and vans on a highway linking Punjab with Balochistan.

"At least 22 people were killed and five injured when militants intercepted the vehicles," he said of the first attack, adding that passengers from Punjab were singled out and shot.

Among the victims were 19 Punjabis and three Baloch, mostly laborers from Punjab, according to Kakar. Hameed Zehri, another senior district official, confirmed the death toll and suggested that the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the region's most active militant separatist group, was likely responsible for the attack.

In its statement, the BLA said it had launched an operation "on highways across Balochistan", claiming to have targeted only security personnel.

An earlier statement from the group warned the Baloch public to stay away from the highways, adding that their "fight is against the occupying Pakistani military."