AhlulBayt News Agency

source : AP, PressTV
Sunday

13 August 2017

9:23:30 AM
847942

Major blast kills 15 in southwestern of Quetta, Pakistan

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - A suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a military truck Saturday with a bomb killing eight soldiers and seven civilians in the southwestern city of Quetta, an official and the military said.

Kabeer Khan, an explosives expert who examined the site, said after collecting forensic evidence that it was a suicide attack and that the attacker was carrying some 25 kilograms of "incendiary explosives" on a motorcycle that he rammed into the military truck.

A military statement said the bomb also wounded 25 people, including 15 civilians. It said the explosives sparked fires in nearby vehicles. It added that all the victims were taken to a military hospital.

Pakistani army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa condemned the attack. He said in a statement that it was an attempt to mar the independence day festivities.

"Our resolve won't succumb to any challenge," Gen Bajwa said.

Sarfraz Bugti, the home minister for Baluchistan, said the blast took place near a private hospital.

Bugti said an investigation was launched to determine the nature of the blast and whether it was a terrorist attack.

No terror group claimed responsibility as it has been for previous such incidents in Balochistan, a province rich in oil and gas resources that borders Iran and Afghanistan.

Daesh, a Takfiri terrorist group which mainly operates in the Middle East but has also established a branch in Afghanistan, has claimed several attacks in the Pakistani territory in the recent past. Attacks have also been reported by groups related to the Taliban.



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