Two soldiers protecting Shia pilgrims die in Balochistan blast

QUETTA, Pakistan (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Two Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed in a bomb blast while protecting Shia pilgrims heading to Iran on the main Quetta-Taftan Highway in Mastung district on Saturday.Officials said that the bomb exploded when the two soldiers, who were escorting a convoy of five buses of the pilgrims, approached a suspicious vehicle left abandoned on a roadside in the Dringarh area. As they started checking the vehicle, a powerful explosion took place, killing the two soldiers.However, all the pilgrims in the buses remained safe.The FC officials said it was a remote controlled bomb, apparently aimed at targeting the pilgrims. Police and security officials collected evidence.The FC spokesman said the convoy of 350 pilgrims was allowed to proceed towards Taftan border after clearance.Taftan is a bordering town, some 350 km away from Quetta on Pakistani-Iranian borders that also serves as a crossing point into either country.The fallen soldiers of the FC were identified as Naib Subedar Farhatullah and Lance Naik Farman Ali.Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch strongly condemned the blast and expressed deep grief over the loss of lives.Expressing deep grief over the death of two soldiers, IG FC Major General Muhammad Ejaz Shahid lauded the services rendered by the soldiers. He vowed that the FC would render every sacrifice for the protection of the people. Mastund has had a history of attacks on Shiite pilgrims during the past few years.Some 19 Shiites were killed in a blast almost at the same place in March.Pilgrims belonged to the Hazara community, which are mainly Shiites and have been target of sectarian violence in Quetta and Baluchistan Province in past years.Originally hailing from Northern Afghanistan and settled in Baluchistan, Hazaras can easily be distinguished because of their Mongol features./129