Islamabad: At least nine persons were killed
and 20 others injured on Friday when a powerful car bomb went off
outside the home of the son of a prominent politician in
Quetta city of southwest Pakistan, police said.
The blast ripped through the residence of Shafeeq Mengal,
the son of former Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Muhammad
Naseer Mengal.
At least nine persons were killed, police officials told
the media. Nearly 20 injured people, including a boy, were
taken to a nearby hospital.
Officials described the condition of two of the injured
as serious. Police chief Nazir Kurd confirmed that the blast
occurred outside the house of Shafeeq Mengal.
Preliminary investigations showed the bomb was planted in
a car, he said. There was no word on the fate of Shafeeq
Mengal. The blast in a residential area near Arbab Karam Khan
Road was heard from several kilometres away.
It blew out the windows of nearby structures and caused
severe damage to several buildings and shops.
The blast also triggered a blaze and fire fighters were
called in to extinguish it. The nature of the blast could not
immediately be ascertained.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Footage on television showed ambulances taking the
injured, their clothes spattered with blood, to hospital.
Security forces cordoned off the area thick black smoke
was seen rising from a building.
PTI
First Published: Friday, December 30, 2011, 22:49