DSP Amanullah, Imam among 15 martyred in Quetta mosque blast

The nature of the blast was not immediately clear.

QUETTA (Dunya News) – At least 15 people including Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ammanullah and the Imam of the mosque were killed and 19 others sustained injuries in a powerful explosion at a mosque in the provincial capital’s Satellite Town on Friday.

As per the reports, the bomb explosion took place when the people were offering Maghrib prayers. The nature of the blast which occurred in Satellite Town’ Ghausabad was not immediately clear.

Soon after the explosion, security forces and rescue staff reached the spot and shifted the wounded people to local hospital for medico-legal formalities. Security officials have cordoned off the site of the blast.

Fida Mohammad, who was attending evening prayers, said about 60 people were present at the time of the attack on the mosque, which is located in a densely populated area.

The explosion ripped through the front row of worshippers seconds after the prayer began, he said. "It was a powerful blast, people were screaming and running here and there -- many people were injured because of the stampede," Mohammad said.

Mohammad Waseem, a doctor at Quetta s Sandeman hospital, confirmed that 15 victims had died.The police chief of Balochistan province, Mohsin Hassan Butt, also confirmed the death toll, saying: "Nineteen people are still taking medical treatment, the condition of three to four is critical." A police officer was among the dead, he added.

Talking to media, Provincial home minister Zia Ullah Langu said that investigations by bomb disposal officers indicated that a suicide bomber carried out the attack.

In his latest tweet, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor quoted Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa as saying, "Frontier Corps personnel had reached the blast site and were carrying out a search operation along with police." 

FC Bln troops reached Qta blast site. Area cordoned off. Joint search operation with police in progress.Injured being evacuated to hosp. “Every possible assistance be given to police & civil administration. Those who targeted innocents in a mosque can never be true Muslim”, COAS.

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) January 10, 2020

The tweet further quoted the COAS as saying, “Every possible assistance be given to police and civil administrationand those who targeted innocents in a mosque can never be true Muslim.”

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Governor Abdul Quddus Bizenjo condemned the blast and expressed grief over loss of lives. Jam Kamal directed security agencies to take stringent measures across the province to ensure citizens remained safe and secure.

On Tuesday, at least two people have been killed and several others wounded after a bomb targeted a security personnel vehicle in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta.

The attack took place at an intersection near the city s busy Liaqat market on Tuesday evening.

The explosives were packed on a motorcycle, although it was unclear if the attack involved a suicide attacker or if the bomb was planted to go off via remote control or a timer, said police official Mushtaq Hussain.

Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province, the country s largest but most sparsely populated province, rich in mineral resources and the route of much of the $60bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project.

CPEC projects focus on transport, infrastructure and electrical power generation, culminating in a trade route that will connect southwestern China with the Arabian Sea through the length of Pakistan. The route ends in a major commercial seaport in the Balochistan town of Gwadar.

In November, at least two security personnel were killed and five others wounded in a similar attack targeting a vehicle, local media reported.