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QUETTA: At least 22 people were killed and scores others injured in a powerful blast at Quetta Railway Station on Saturday morning, hospital officials said.
Initial reports suggest that a “suicide attack” occurred near the ticket office at the railway station, minutes before the Jaffar Express was scheduled to depart for Peshawar at 9 am.
The suicide bomber targeted security personnel, who were seated in the waiting area of the Jaffar Express.
Quetta Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Mohammad Baloch told reporters that around 100 people were present at the platform when the explosion took place.
In a statement, Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind said police and security forces had reached the site of the incident. “The nature of the blast was being investigated as the Bomb Disposal Squad was collecting evidence from the site and a report had been requested,” he said.
An emergency has also been imposed in Quetta’s Civil Hospital along with police and rescue officials reached the site.
The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army’s (BLA) Majeed Brigade, in a press release, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that the group had carried out a Fidayee attack — suicide bombing — at the Quetta Railway Station targeting military personnel.
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