Ayaz Gul
VOA News
February 5, 2023

ISLAMABAD — A bomb blast in southwestern Pakistan Sunday reportedly killed at least one soldier and injured 12 people, including civilians.

The attack targeted a military vehicle at the entrance to a security checkpoint in a highly guarded central part of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, residents and officials said.

Neither provincial police nor the military’s media wing shared any details about the casualties or the nature of the Quetta blast.

The Pakistani Taliban insurgent group, also called Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, claimed responsibility, saying one of its suicide bombers carried out the attack on a military convoy. The insurgents gave a much higher casualty toll in the ensuing blast, but they often release inflated details about such attacks.

Rescue workers confirmed at least five passersby were injured in the attack and transported to a nearby civilian hospital.

The attack comes days after a massive bomb explosion ripped through a packed mosque in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing nearly 100 worshipers and injuring more than 150 others.

The Peshawar bombing killed and injured mostly members of the province police. Pakistani authorities said a suicide bomber disguised as a police officer had blown himself up inside the mosque, housed in the provincial police headquarters.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Peshawar carnage. Officials blamed TTP but the insurgents denied involvement.