At least three people, including a prayer leader, were killed and 28 others injured in an explosion inside Rehmania mosque during the Friday sermon in Pashtoonabad area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, on May 24, reports The Express Tribune. Quetta Deputy Inspector General of Police Abdul Razzaq Cheema said “At least three people, including prayer leader Hafiz Ataur Rehman, have been martyred in the blast, while 28 worshipers have been injured”. The other two worshippers killed were identified as Shahbaz and Sultan. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Operations, Bahram Mandokhail confirmed that up to two to three kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the attack. “The prayer leader was the target of attack,” added the SSP. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
Separately, three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were injured in a bomb blast near the Shella Bagh area of Qila Abdullah District on May 24, reports Dawn. Official sources said that the commandant of the FC’s Chaman Scouts wing Colonel Khurram Javed was on his way to Quetta from Shella Bagh when the blast occurred near the FC convoy. “Commandant Colonel Khurram Javed remained unhurt in the bomb explosion,” a senior Levies official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to media. The explosive device planted in a motorcycle parked on the Quetta-Chaman National Highway was detonated by remote control. No group claimed responsibility for the blast.