At least five policemen were martyred and seven others were injured when a suicide bomber targeted a police van on Airport Road in Quetta, military’s media wing said.
Two suicide bombers also tried to attack a Frontier Corps (FC) checkpost in Quetta’s Mian Ghundi area, however, the FC personnel killed the attackers following an exchange of fire before they could explode their suicide vests, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The Medical Superintendent of Civil Hospital Quetta, Dr Kamran, confirmed the casualties.
Police and FC personnel rushed to the blast site and cordoned off the area.
In January this year, at least seven people were killed on Quetta’s Zarghoon Road when a suicide bomber rammed into a parked police truck, injuring 16 people, police said.
Quetta’s security challenges
Balochistan has faced a number of security challenges in recent months, with security personnel in the province often being targeted in roadside explosions and suicide attacks.
Five people were killed and 27 others had suffered injuries in a suicide attack on a convoy of a paramilitary force in the Sariab Road area of Quetta in November last year.
In October, seven policemen belonging to the Rapid Response Group (RRG) of Balochistan Police and a passer-by were killed in a suicide blast, also in Sariab area.
Fifteen people, including eight soldiers, were martyred when a suicide bomber targeted a military truck near the Pishin bus stop in Quetta in August.
Earlier in June, 14 people ─ including seven policemen ─ lost their lives in a suicide blast that shook Shuhada Chowk in Quetta’s Gulistan Road area.
Balochistan has been experiencing incidents of violence and targeted killings for over a decade. More than 1,400 incidents targeting the minority Shia and Hazara community have taken place in the province during the past 15 years.
