Many Killed in Pakistan Market Explosion

Many Killed in Pakistan Market Explosion
A bomb has killed nine people and injured at least 21 after it exploded near a military truck at a packed market in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials said. The victims were mostly passersby or vendors while a soldier was also killed by the device, which was apparently fixed to a bicycle, according to police and hospital sources. The blast happened at about 4.00pm (1100 GMT) on Friday when the market in the centre of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, is usually crammed with people. The poverty-stricken, largely desert province is in the throes of a tribal uprising which has seen a number of attacks on the military. Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan described the blast as a "terrorist act" but added: "One can't say the target was specifically the army vehicle." **No speculation*** "This is an isolated incident of terrorism. They placed the bomb near an army vehicle which also got damaged along with other vehicles parked there," he said. The general refused to speculate whether the perpetrators were local tribesmen or members of al-Qaida-linked groups fleeing Pakistani military operations in rugged tribal terrain bordering Afghanistan. Information Minister Shaikh Rashid blamed the attack on "enemies of the country". He told state television: "The culprits of such heinous crimes are terrorists. They do not want to see development of the country." Police said the device exploded in Quetta's main Mizaan Chowk commercial district near a military vehicle carrying soldiers visiting the area for weekly shopping. **Chaos*** The truck, which belongs to the Staff College, was badly damaged, along with three private cars. Television showed scenes of chaos, with agitated crowds loading injured people into minibuses and ambulances. "Nobody knew what happened. We thought it was an earthquake," vegetable seller Ali Muhammad, who was sitting across the road, said. "There were dead bodies and the wounded. Blood was splattered in the area." Nasir Khan, a medical officer at Quetta's Civil Hospital, said they had received seven bodies while two seriously wounded people died later. "One of the dead is a soldier," he added. The hospital declared a state of emergency. The injured include five soldiers who were being transferred to a military hospital, Khan added. In total about a dozen people suffered serious injuries, including one of the soldiers. **Timed device?*** Akbar Ali, director of the local bomb-disposal unit, said the device was apparently planted on a bicycle parked near the truck. "We are investigating if it was timed device or a remote-controlled bomb," he added. The unrest in sparsely populated Baluchistan is fuelled by resentment that foreign investors and richer neighbouring provinces are removing profits from the region. Some tribal leaders have opposed a government plan to establish at least three garrisons in the region, which is rich in natural resources. In November, a bicycle bomb thought to be aimed at a vehicle of the paramilitary Frontier Corps killed one man and injured 15 people including a soldier in Khuzdar, 250km south of Quetta. It came a day after a bomb exploded near a police station in Quetta, injuring three passers-by. **PHOTO CAPTION*** A Pakistani police officer stands beside a damaged army truck at the explosion site in Quetta, Pakistan, Friday, Dec. 10, 2004. (AP)

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