Islamabad: A bus carrying Shia students was targeted with a powerful bomb, killing four persons and injuring 50 others, in Pakistan’s southwestern Quetta city on Monday.
The bomb, hidden underneath a car parked by the roadside, was triggered by remote control when the bus reached the campus of the Balochistan University of Information Technology at Samungli Road this morning. All the dead were students, officials told TV news channels. Four female students and four policemen were among the injured.
The policemen were in a van that was passing the area when the blast occurred. The injured were taken to the Combined Military Hospital, the Bolan Medical Complex and the Civil Hospital.
At least 12 students, who were in a critical condition, were taken to the military hospital, officials said.
The bomb contained about 40 kg of explosives, officials of bomb disposal squad said.
The blast created a three-foot-deep crater on the road. Police officials said the bus was the target of the attack.
A rickshaw was destroyed by the blast, which damaged several nearby buildings. Security forces cordoned off the site of the blast, located in a residential area of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, and launched a search operation.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack. This was the latest in a string of attacks in Balochistan targeting the minority Shia community. (PTI)
