QUETTA: A bicycle bomb apparently targeting security forces killed two people and injured at least nine others in Pakistan's troubled southwestern province of Balochistan on Tuesday, police said.
The device exploded on the road from Balochistan's provincial capital Quetta to the airport as a convoy of the government paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) passed nearby.
Rescue teams rushed to the site as fear and panic gripped the area after the explosion.
All injured, including one Frontier Corps (FC) man, were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Quetta and Civil Hospital Quetta.
“Two people passing by were killed in the blast and nine others wounded. The injured also included three FC soldiers,” Wazir Khan Nasir, a senior police Official told AFP.
Another police official Zubair Mehmood told AFP that “the FC convoy was a target apparently. Around five kilograms (11 pounds) of explosive was installed in the bicycle parked roadside. It exploded when the FC convoy passed nearby."
Shops, houses and parked cars were also damaged in the vicinity.
Security forces cordoned off the site as investigations into the blast went underway.
According to initial reports, the blast was followed by gunfire.
Balochistan is plagued by Taliban militants, sectarian violence targeting minority Shia Muslims and a regional insurgency waged by separatists.
Violence has surged in the province this year and human rights activists have raised concerns about an increase in targeted killings.
