Quetta blasts toll hits 96..The News..Death stalks Pakistan as 133 die in three cities

QUETTA (The News) : At least 96 people were killed in three separate blasts that occured in Quetta on Thursday evening, Geo News reported.

Death stalks Pakistan as 133 die in three cities 96 killed in Quetta bomb blasts Two journalists, police officers among dead, over 200 people sustain injuries; three explosions rock Balochistan capital

At least twelve people including two children and a FC personal were killed while 40 others sustained injuries when a powerful bomb ripped through Bacha Khan Chowk.

These reports published with Courtesy The News

Meanwhile, the first blast of the twin blasts on Alamdar road was reported from Rehmattullah Chowk, whereas the second one which struck Airport road area nearby came minutes after the first one. 

At least 84 people including three media personnel and several rescue workers also lost their lives while covering the blast back to back blasts, meanwhile a DSP including nine other police officials were also killed in the attack.

The DIG Police Quetta, Hamid Shakil, says the first suicide bomber detonated his device inside a crowded snooker club, then about 10 minutes later another bomb planted outside the building went off as police, media workers and rescue teams rushed to the site.

The Geo News team, which also arrived at the site to cover the first blast, however, narrowly escaped the second one, but the satellite van the staffers were in was damaged partially. Fortunately Geo's cameramen and reporters received minor injuries.

"The shrapnel or the flying debris, which hit the Geo News DSNG following the second explosion shattered its windshield", sources said.

DSP Quaidabad, Mujahid Hussain, and SHO Jaafar Ali, who were injured in the second blast succumbed to their wounds later in the hospital.

A SAMA TV's cameraman, Imran Shaikh and a reporter, Saif-ur-Rahman, were also killed in the deadly blast. A satellite engineer of the same news channel was also seriously wounded in the blast.

Police said the bombings disrupted power supplies and plunged the area into darkness.

The last rites of those that lost their lives in the calamitous event will be carried out today.

QUETTA: Thursday, January 10, turned out to be a horrific day for the people of Quetta when the city was rocked by three bombings that killed at least 96 people and injured over 200. The dead included security officials, Edhi volunteers, a TV reporter and a cameraman. The last bombing of the day was the most powerful ever to hit the city.

The first explosion took place at the Bacha Khan Chowk in the afternoon while the other two occured on the crowded Alamdar Road at night.

The deadly twin blasts that rocked Alamdar Road left at least 80 people dead, including a deputy superintendent of police, an SHO, Edhi volunteers, a reporter and cameraman of Samaa TV, while 200 others were injured.

Police said the first blast took place outside a snooker club at the Rehmatullah Chowk, an area inhabited by the Hazara Shia community, at about 8:50pm, which left some 10 people injured. The more powerful second blast took place on the same spot after 20 minutes when a lot of passers-by, media men and police officials had assembled to evacuate the injured of the first blast.

This resulted in the death of as many as 70 people on the spot, most of them from the Hazrara Shia community. DSP Mujahid Hussain, SHO Zafar Ali, Samaa cameraman Imran Sheikh, a reporter of the same channel, Saifur Rehman, and four Edhi volunteers were among those killed. A Geo cameraman Acme Roger received injuries on the face.

All the injured, some of them in a precarious condition, were rushed to different hospitals in the city, where an emergency had been declared. The blasts caused suspension of electricity supply to the area.

“It was the largest ever bomb to have hit the city,” said a senior police official. Police experts said that more than 100 kg of explosives were used in the bomb, a record for troubled Quetta city.

Earlier, the first bomb of the day exploded at a busy shopping area, the Bacha Khan Chowk, killing at least 12 people and wounding 40 others. Hospital sources feared that the death toll might rise, as many injured people were in a critical condition. One Jawan of the Frontier Corps (FC) was among the 12 people who were killed in the blast.

The bomb was planted under a white-coloured car and went off with a big bang at around 3:50pm. “Initial investigations suggest that the blast was caused by a remote controlled bomb, which was planted under a vehicle,” CCPO Quetta Mir Zubair said while talking to newsmen on the spot. The thud of the explosion could be heard several kilometres away. Apparently, the blast targeted a security forces’ vehicle, sources added.

More than 12 vehicles and four motorcycles were badly damaged in the blast. The windowpanes of nearby buildings were smashed. The victims were shifted to the Civil Hospital and CMH.

The police and law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area. “It was a high-powered time device weighing 20 to 25 kilograms and was planted under a car near the Baldia Plaza at Bacha Khan Chowk”, said officials of the bomb disposal squad. The blast created a nine-foot-long and four-foot-deep crater.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Balochistan governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi, Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani, PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, PTI Chairman Imran Khan and others strongly condemned the blasts. They expressed deep concern over the deaths of the people.

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