updated 5:54 AM EDT 03.29.14One dead, 16 injured in Pakistan blast

By Syed Ali Shah, CNN

A A A (resize font)

(CNN) - A 5-year old girl was killed and 16 people injured in a deadly blast in Pakistan's volatile southwestern Balochistan province, police said on Saturday.

Police superintendent Imran Qureshi told CNN that militants targeted a vehicle belonging to the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force, in Quetta, Balochistan's capital.

He said they had planted an improvised explosive device in a rickshaw parked on the side of the road. Nearby shops were damaged in the explosion.

"There was a powerful blast, when security forces' vehicle was passing," Qureshi said.

He said the injured included three security forces personnel as well as women and children.

"A 5 year old girl succumbed to injuries on her way to hospital", he said.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. However, Qureshi said Baloch militants operating in the area could be behind it.

The incident has come a day after the militants torched a tanker carrying fuel for U.S. and NATO troops in Dhadar area of Balochistan and killed its driver.

CNN's Marie-Louise Gumuchian contributed to this report

Comments

Popular Posts