3 killed in Quetta market explosion

Among the three people killed were two personnel of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) when a car packed with explosives detonated in a crowded market at Almo Chowk in the Balochistan capital.

As many as 35 people were injured as the powerful explosion ripped through the market destroying around 10 vehicles, 18 shops and some bank branches.

The injured included four women, three children and 10 security personnel.

A senior police official confirmed that a car was parked in the market and the explosive was detonated by a remote control when two vehicles of FC passed by the area.

Bomb Disposal Squad officials said the explosive used in the terrorist act weighed up to 40 kilograms.

Police said two personnel of Frontier Corps (FC) and a passer-by woman had been killed instantly in the explosion.

The official said the target of the terrorists were clearly the security forces.

"Unfortunately in the explosion five women and three children also sustained multiple splinter wounds," he said.

So powerful was the blast that windowpanes of nearby houses, offices, and commercial establishments were shattered due to its impact. The explosion was heard five to six kilometers from the scene.

At least eight vehicles caught fire and people onboard received splinter wounds.

Two vehicles of Frontier Corps were also damaged.

A Spokesperson of FC confirmed that two security men were killed and ten wounded in the blast.

The deceased security men were identified as Waseem Abbas and Aziz.

No group claimed responsibility for the bombing though such attacks are usually blamed on Baloch nationalist organisations.

Police and security forces are frequently attacked in the insurgency-plagued province.

Last week, senior police official Shah Nawaz Khan was assassinated in Quetta in a drive-by shooting that was claimed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an al Qaeda-linked banned group.

Over the last two years, militants and separatists in the troubled Baluchistan province have stepped up attacks on security forces and government installations with the capital city of Quetta being the worst affected by these attacks.