2 policeman martyred, 12 injured in blast near Quetta's Serena Hotel

Published August 8, 2021
Police and rescue officials are seen at the site of the blast in Quetta. — Photo by author
Police and rescue officials are seen at the site of the blast in Quetta. — Photo by author
A view of the aftermath of the blast in Quetta. — DawnNewsTV
A view of the aftermath of the blast in Quetta. — DawnNewsTV

At least two policemen were martyred and 12 others injured in an explosion near Quetta's Serena Hotel on Sunday evening.

Six civilians were also wounded in the blast that targeted a vehicle carrying 15 policemen near Tanzeem Chowk, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said in a statement.

He said the improvised explosive device (IED) was fitted into a motorcycle.

The injured were shifted to hospital, where an emergency was imposed, while Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) teams were at the scene.

Shahwani condemned the attack, saying "terrorists want to disturb Balochistan's peace and spread fear."

"[We] will bring to justice the elements trying to create disturbance in peaceful Balochistan," he added.

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan also condemned the attack and expressed sadness over the martyrdom of the two police personnel.

"Terrorist elements want to ruin the province's peace. [We] will never allow terrorists to succeed in their nefarious plans," he was quoted as saying in a statement.

The chief minister directed officials to submit a report into the attack and to provide the best available treatment facilities to the injured.

Separately, a vendor was injured on Quetta's Sariab Road after unidentified persons hurled a grenade at his roadside stall where he was selling Pakistan flags and other paraphernalia ahead of 14th August.

The incidents come more than three months after a powerful bomb exploded in the parking lot of the Quetta Serena Hotel, killing five people and wounding a dozen others.

Since then, there have been a number of attacks in the city in which security personnel and civilians were wounded or lost their lives.

Late last month, at least four people were injured and a Frontier Corps (FC) vehicle was damaged in a blast in Hazar Ganji, a locality on the outskirts of Quetta.

On July 1, at least six security personnel were injured, two of them seriously, in a motorcycle bomb explosion that targeted an army convoy on Quetta's Airport Road.

Balochistan Inspector General Mohammad Tahir Rai had said that an IED had been planted on the motorcycle, which was detonated by remote control.

Opinion

Editorial

Mixed signals
Updated 28 Dec, 2024

Mixed signals

If Imran wants talks to yield results, he should authorise PTI’s committee to fully engage with the other side without setting deadlines.
Opaque trials
Updated 28 Dec, 2024

Opaque trials

Secretive trials, shielded from scrutiny, fail to provide the answers that citizens deserve.
A friendly neighbour
28 Dec, 2024

A friendly neighbour

FORMER Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh who passed away on Thursday at 92 was a renowned economist who pulled ...
Desperate measures
Updated 27 Dec, 2024

Desperate measures

Sadly in Pakistan, street protests and sit-ins have become the only resort to catch the attention of a callous power elite.
Economic outlook
27 Dec, 2024

Economic outlook

THE post-pandemic years, marked by extreme volatility in the global oil and commodity markets as well as slowing...
Cricket and visas
27 Dec, 2024

Cricket and visas

PAKISTAN has asserted that delay in the announcement of the schedule of next year’s Champions Trophy will not...