At least five people were killed and five others injured in an explosion targeting a vehicle in the Naal area of Khuzdar district in Balochistan province of Pakistan on Wednesday, March 5. The blast happened when an improvised explosive device (IED) attached to a motorbike was detonated by a remote control in a market, according to police officials.
Naal police Station House Officer (SHO) Bahawal Khan Pindrani was quoted regarding the casualties and he added that the condition of one of the injured was serious. District Health Officer Rafiq Sasoli also confirmed the same. The SHO said the explosive was attached to a motorcycle and detonated remotely after the bike was parked beside a car which appeared to be the target.
Local sources said unidentified attackers targeted vehicle belonged of Samad Sumalani, a key member of a state-backed armed group locally referred to as a “Death Squad”. The incident occurred in tehsil Naal.
Contrary to the police statement, rescue service Edhi Foundation put the death toll higher at five with several injured in the blast in Khuzdar’s Naal Bazaar. It added that the casualties were moved to the hospital for treatment. It also said that the toll may rise further as condition of more than one injured as described as very serious by it, according to a report in The Balochistan Post.
Khuzdar Senior Superintendent of Police Javed Zehri said the blast occurred near a college in the market’s vicinity and many vehicles got burnt down due to its impact. He said the injured were taken to Khuzdar Teaching Hospital for treatment.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the blast in a statement, adding that orders were issued to provide the injured with the best medical care available. “Terrorism will be eradicated in all its forms,” CM Bugti was quoted as saying. “Elements hostile to peace will fail in their nefarious objectives and those involved in this incident will be brought to justice.’’
Authorities identified two of the deceased as Ubaidullah (son of Lal Bakhsh) and Munir Ahmed (son of Abdul Ghani). Five people were wounded, while Sumalani himself reportedly escaped unharmed. A Khuzdar administration official said Sumalani’s vehicle was at a welding shop for repairs when the explosion occurred. Officials suggested that materials inside the vehicle may have caused the blast, leading to multiple casualties.
Deputy Commissioner of Khuzdar, Yasir Iqbal Dashti, confirmed that Levies personnel arrived at the scene immediately and fire-fighters extinguished the subsequent blaze. One of the injured was transferred to a trauma centre, while the others were taken to a local hospital.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
On Tuesday evening, there was an attack on Bannu cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) armed men rammed two explosives-laden vehicles into the perimeter wall. According to full details emerging on late Wednesday evening, the attack was devastating in that there were at least 34 fatal casualties. These included 16 TTP men, 13 civilians in a nearby mosque and at least five soldiers.
In February, there were at least 45 attacks in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province leading to deaths of at least that many security personnel, including those from the Army and the police.
In February, there were at least 32 violent attacks on security forces all over Balochistan. The Bashir Zeb and Azad factions of the BLA, the Balochistan Liberation Front and the United Baloch Army claimed responsibility for most of these attacks. The number of lives lost last month in these attacks was put at 56, including 35 civilians, 10 security personnel, and 11 armed rebels.
