At least five injured in explosion in Quetta, Pakistan
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The bombing follows a recent explosion at a mosque near the Police lines area in Peshawar which claimed the lives of at least 100 and injured around 200.
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Police officers clear the way for ambulances carrying wounded people from the scene of a bomb explosion at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, January 30, 2023. (AP)
There have been reports of a bombing in Quetta, in Pakistan's Balochistan province, near the FC Mussa checkpoint, injuring a number of people.
Dawn.com, a Pakistani news site, reported that the explosion injured at least five people.
The explosion reportedly happened near the Quetta Police headquarters and the Quetta Cantonment entrance.
The bombing follows a recent explosion at a mosque near the Police lines area in Peshawar which claimed the lives of at least 100 people and injured around 200.
It was reported by Pakistani media that the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the earlier explosion, but the group later denied responsibility for the attack.
The attack was reportedly executed by a suicide bomber who had been in the first row of prayers before setting off the bomb.
City police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan told AFP that "the purpose was to demoralize us as a force," adding that "we are on the frontline taking action against militants and that is why we were targeted."
The bomber carried 10-12 kilograms of "explosive material in bits and pieces," according to the head of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province police force, Moazzam Jah Ansari.
The blast was denounced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying that the perpetrators "have nothing to do with Islam."
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also denounced the "terrorist suicide attack" and offered his condolences to the victims' families. "It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering and properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism," he added.
