Bomb Explosion Leaves 9 Dead and 15 Injured in Pakistan
Car destroyed by a bomb in Mastung, Pakistan, Nov. 1, 2024. X/ @TaimurA12663963
November 1, 2024 Hour: 12:46 pm
PM Sharif condemned the attack and ordered authorities ‘to catch those responsible and bring them to justice.’
On Friday morning, a bomb went off in Balochistan province injuring 15 people and killing nine Pakistanis, including three school children and a policeman, as reported by Quetta Voice.
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The incident happened in Mastung district where a police vehicle was targeted by a bomb explosion. The primary target of the terrorists was the police vehicle, but as the explosion happened near a school, a school van which was passing by the police vehicle also got hit by the bomb.
The injured people, including policemen and school children, were shifted to a nearby hospital. Several vehicles including the police vehicle and school van were damaged in the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
“Around 9:00 a.m., a bomb exploded in front of a girls’ school in the city of Mastung,” said local police officer Naseer Khan. The explosion left 15 injured and killed five female students, a police officer, and a bystander,” reported another police official, Ansar Hussain.
The five students were traveling in a three-wheeled vehicle known as a “rickshaw” when the bomb, which had been placed on a motorcycle, exploded. The target of the attack was a police vehicle passing through the area. The students, aged six to fifteen, were on their way to school when the attack occurred.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in a statement and ordered authorities “to catch those responsible and bring them to justice.”
Mastung is located in the volatile province of Balochistan, which has seen a surge in armed violence in recent years. In this province, which borders Afghanistan, several separatist groups operate, seeking greater autonomy for the region, and confrontations with security forces are frequent.
Baloch nationalists argue that the region’s natural resources, such as gas and oil, are exploited to benefit other parts of the country without fair compensation for the people of Balochistan. In addition to clashes with security forces, attacks against foreign citizens, particularly those from China working on various Beijing-led projects in the area, have also increased.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE – Quettavoice – Xinhua