Four people including a policeman were killed and 26 others injured in a suicide attack in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, the provincial health department has said. The other deceased including two kids and their mother, and the injured people were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta, the media coordinator of the department of health, Waseem Baig was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
Earlier in a conversation with the news agency, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Quetta police Ghulam Azfar Mahesar said that a suicide bomber exploded his explosive-laden rickshaw near a truck of police in Baleli area of Quetta on Wednesday.
The blast toppled the vehicle and pushed it into a ditch beside the road, he added. The targeted policemen were on their way to performing security duties for polio teams deployed across the city to inoculate vaccines to kids.
The official added that the initial investigation found that around 25 kg of explosives were used in the blast. The police and security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation in the region.
Local media reports said the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack. The blast was carried out after the militant group announced to terminate a ceasefire agreement with the Pakistani government, threatening to start attacks across the country.