Roadside Bomb Wounds Seven in Southwest Pakistan
A huge roadside bomb explosion in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province wounded at least seven people on Saturday, security officials said.
Planted in a car parked by the side of the road, the bomb went off in a suburb of the city of Quetta as police officer's vehicle was passing. Officials said it was unclear whether he was intended the target.
"The bomb was planted in a car in a relatively deserted location on Spini Road. It exploded just after a police deputy superintendent passed," Quetta police chief Abdul Razzak Cheema told Agence France-Presse.
"Seven people who got injured in the blast were taken to hospital," Cheema added.
Bomb disposal experts said a remote control was used in the blast.
"A planted device was used for the explosion which was detonated by remote control. Up to 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of explosives were used in the blast," said bomb disposal chief Commander Abdul Razzak.
"Luckily the area was not that crowded. This huge quantity of explosives could have killed many people if exploded in a busy area," he said.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but Islamic sectarian militants and Baluch separatists are active in the area and often attack minority Shia Muslims as well as government forces and installations.
Resource-rich Baluchistan is home to a long-running separatist conflict that was revived in 2004, with nationalists seeking to stop what they see as the exploitation of the region's natural resources and alleged rights abuses.
Source: Agence France Presse
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