95 including DSP killed as bombings rock Quetta
About 95 people were killed in a series of bomb blasts in Quetta on Thursday.
QUETTA: At least 95 people were killed while more than one hundered injured on Thursday in a series of bomb blasts in Quetta on Thursday, including 84 who died two successive blasts on a bustling billiard hall.
First blast took place at a snooker club at Rehmattullah Chowk, Alamdar Road, killing at least 12 people and hurting many others.
The billiard hall in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, was hit by twin blasts about 5 minutes apart on Thursday night, killing 84 people and wounding more than 120 others, said senior police officer Zubair Mehmood.
Having information, security forces and rescue teams reached the site of occurrence and cordoned off the related in order to shift the bodies and injured to the hospitals.
Meanwhile, the second bomb blasted nearby area at Airport Road when media persons, security officials and rescue workers were rendering services on emergency bases.
As a result, eight cops including DSP Mujahid were killed on the spot. Apart from this, four employees of rescue workers and a cameraman of a private TV channel also fell victims to horrible blast.
Many of the people who rushed to the scene after the first blast and were hit by the second bomb, which caused the roof of the building to collapse, he said.
Police officers, journalists and rescue workers who responded to the initial explosion were also among the dead, police said.
Banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has claimed responsibility for the attack to local journalists. One of the group s spokesmen, Bakar Saddiq, said the first blast was carried out by a suicide bomber and the second was a bomb planted in a car and detonated by remote control.
Earlier, in the morning at least twelve people including two children and a FC personal were killed and 40 others sustained injuries when a powerful bomb ripped through Bacha Khan Chowk.
The United Baluch Army, a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack on the soldiers in calls to local journalists.
