Nearly 30 people have been injured in a powerful bomb explosion that rocked Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta.
An improvised explosive device attached to a motorcycle went off near one of the busiest streets of the capital of Balochistan Province on Wednesday evening.
Local police officials said several nearby shops caught fire after the explosion on Prince Road.
Initial reports indicate that at least 28 people have been injured, five of them seriously, in the violent incident.
Police have cordoned off the area and launched an investigation into the explosion.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police officials put the blame on pro-Taliban militants or some Baloch insurgent groups, who have carried out similar assaults in the past.
Over the past few months, insurgents have destroyed dozens of gas pipelines and power towers in different parts of Balochistan.
Some Baloch insurgent groups say they want greater political autonomy and a share of the province’s natural resources.
Taliban militants have also carried out numerous attacks against security forces as well as civilians and managed to spread their influence in various regions of Pakistan, despite frequent offensives by the army.
On December 16, a group of pro-Taliban militants stormed a military-run school in the city of Peshawar and killed over 140 people, including 132 children. Some 120 students were also injured.
Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the United States in the so-called war on terror.
