Four killed, 20 injured in Balochistan’s Qila Abdullah blast

QUETTA: Four people were killed and 20 others injured, eight of them seriously, when a car bomb exploded in a commercial market located adjacent to the fort of Frontier Corps (FC) in Gulistan area of Qila Abdullah, a bordering district with Afghanistan, late Sunday evening.

According to officials, a powerful explosion took place at Jabbar commercial market, located on Quetta-Chaman National Highway in Gulistan town, which not only destroyed many shops and vehicles parked in the area but also damaged the back wall of the FC fort. The shops caught fire after the blast.

Heavy exchange of fire took place between FC personnel and unknown armed men after the explosion, which continued for some time. However, no loss of life was reported,

Sources claimed that the target was a pro-government tribal elder Faizullah Ghabizai, who was present in the market when the car bomb exploded. However, Ghabizai remained safe but his guards were killed and injured in the explosion.

The district administration confirmed four deaths and over 20 injured. “Four people have been killed and over 20 injured in the blast,” Muhammad Riaz Khan Dawar, Deputy Commissioner Qila Abdullah said, adding an IED-fitted car was used for the explosion. It seemed the car was detonated with remote control, he said.

“Apparently, the attackers wanted to target the back wall of the FC fort located adjacent to the commercial market,” Dawar said, adding that after the huge blast heavy exchange of fire took place between the security personnel of FC and attackers. He said eight injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta, while others were admitted in district hospital Qila Abdullah and Gulistan.

The bodies were also shifted to the hospital, which were yet to be identified. Levies were investigating the incident. More security personnel were deployed after the blast as the security had been beefed up in Qila Abdullah and Chaman.

Meanwhile, the banned Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack on the FC fort.