Two policemen killed, 8 injured in blast near luxury hotel in Pakistan's Quetta

Islamabad: At least two policemen were killed and eight others injured on Sunday when a powerful blast targeted their vehicle near a luxury hotel in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's troubled southwestern Balochistan province, officials said.

"The initial probe showed that the bomb was fitted with a motorbike," Balochistan government spokesman Liaquat Shahwani said.

He said that two policemen were killed and eight others injured in the blast that targeted the police mobile van at Tanzeem Square near Serena Hotel in Quetta.

The security agencies have surrounded the area and launched a manhunt to arrest the culprits, he added.

The injured have been shifted to the city's Civil Hospital, a senior police official said, adding that the windows of nearby buildings were shattered due to the explosion.

No group took the responsibility for the blast but the Baloch nationalists are active in the province and often target the security forces. They accuse the federal government of exploiting the natural resources of the province.

Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan has condemned the incident.

"Terrorist elements want to ruin the province's peace. [We] will never allow terrorists to succeed in their nefarious plans," he was quoted as saying in a statement.

The attack comes more than three months after a powerful bomb exploded in the parking lot of the Serena Hotel, killing five people and wounding a dozen others.

The Chinese ambassador was staying in the hotel but was out at the time of the attack.