Investigators stand near the site of a motorcycle which was damaged in a bomb blast in Quetta. — Reuters

QUETTA Twelve people, three FC personnel among them, were injured when a bomb exploded near a hotel on the busy Jinnah Road on Saturday.

CCPO Shabbir Sheikh said the bomb was fitted into a motorbike and a time device was used to detonate it.

He said the motorbike was parked outside the hotel because the terrorists wanted to target innocent people just to create harassment.

In a statement released to the media late in the night, the Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the explosion.

According to sources, the hotel owner after suspecting the presence of an unattended motorbike, had informed police about it. However, the device went off before the arrival of bomb disposal personnel.

“Three vehicles, including a mobile of the Frontier Corps, were hit when the bomb exploded,” Mr Shaikh said.

The injured FC men were taken to the Combined Military Hospital and the nine civilians were admitted to the Civil Hospital.

The blast damaged glasses and windowpanes of the hotel, nearby shops and other buildings.

Pieces of exploded motorcycle lay scattered over a radius of 200 meters.

The Jinnah Road remained closed for two hours. It was opened after clearance by bomb disposal personnel. Markets in the area, however, remained closed.

Bomb disposal personnel said four to five kilograms of explosive was fitted into the bike.

The CCPO said that pillion riding had been banned and police had been ordered to impound all vehicles and motorcycles without number plates.