Quetta suicide attack kills 54, injures 200

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QUETTA – At least 54 people were killed and 200 others were injured – some seriously - when a suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a peaceful religious procession in Quetta September 3, police and eyewitnesses said. The Imamia Students Organisation (ISO) called the Shia march to mark al-Quads, which falls on September 3.

The attack follows three suicide bombings in Lahore that killed 37 people September 1. Those bombers targeted a procession marking the eve of the anniversary of Hazrat Ali’s death.

Chaos resulted after the Quetta bombing and gunfire, which seriously damaged both public and private property, officials said. Bystanders fled or lay on the ground to dodge bullets, they added, saying the situation remains tense.

“After Friday prayers, the ISO organised a procession from Imm-Barga, Kalla,” Qazi Abdul Wahid, Deputy Inspector General of Police Quetta told Central Asia Online. “When it reached Mezan Chowk (a busy square in Quetta) – around 3pm a suicide attacker blew himself up … killing 30 people on the spot and injuring 250 seriously.”

The carnage continued even after the explosion, he said. “Meanwhile, unknown miscreants opened fire … several other persons, including security personnel, suffered serious injuries, while a mob set on fire several shops, buildings and cars.”

“Police officials and other security forces … rushed the injured victims to different hospitals,” he said.

The banned group Lashkar-Jhangvi-Al-Alami claimed responsibility.

Hospital sources confirmed more than 50 deaths, saying that 15 patients succumbed to their wounds. They expect more deaths, as 60 other victims were reported in serious condition.

Journalists were among the dead and wounded. Serwer Khan, driver for a private TV channel, was killed, while reporters and cameramen representing various news channels were injured.

“The situation is now under control,” Inspector General Police Baluchistan Malik Iqbal told reporters. “A large number of police and other personnel were deployed soon afterward.”

The organisers rejected police advice to change their parade route, he said. “They insisted on the route, and it came under attack.”

The bomber ran toward the procession and blew himself up, an eyewitness, Hayatullah, said.

The incident and others like it are co-ordinated by Taliban- and Al Qaeda-linked militants living in the remote mountainous areas bordering Afghanistan, intelligence sources said.

Religious scholars blasted the Quetta massacre as “an act of extremism and inhumanity” and expressed their sorrow.

The Balochistani government asked the public to remain united in the war against terrorism.