QUETTA, June 18: A powerful bomb exploded close to a departmental store near Jinnah Town late on Saturday night. No casualty was reported in the incident, the police said. The departmental store was badly damaged in the blast. The impact of the explosion was also felt in Professor Colony and the window-panes of several houses there were smashed.

The bomb, believed to have been planted at the footpath of the departmental store, was locally manufactured, police sources said. The sound of the blast caused panic among the residents of Professor Colony and Jinnah Town.

Police and bomb disposal squad personnel rushed to the site soon after the explosion and started their investigation.

Meanwhile, reports reaching here from Kharan said that two rockets were fired from the hilly area around Kharan township. No casualties or property damage was reported.