QUETTA, Feb 12: Quetta and Mastung were rocked by two powerful explosions on late Sunday night while an electricity supply pylon was blown up in the Barkhan area. A gas pipeline was blown up in the Loti gas field, reports reaching here said.
Police said a home-made explosive device, planted near a house on the White Road behind the Governor’s House, went off at around midnight, creating panic in the area.
Window-panes of several houses were smashed by the powerful explosion. No loss of life or property damage was reported.
Another home-made device exploded on the Elementary Road in Mastung, some 50kms southeast of Quetta. No casualty was reported but windowpanes of some nearby houses were smashed.
According to reports reaching here, a 132KV power supply pylon was blown up in the Barkhan area, disrupting power supply to Barkhan and Kohlu areas.
“The electric supply tower was blown up with a device containing high explosives,” official sources said.
Meanwhile, a pipeline of the Loti gas field was blown up on Sunday disrupting the gas supplies to the purification plant.
Reports reaching here said the pipeline was blown up during a heavy exchange of rocket and machine-gun fire between security forces and Bugti tribesmen in the Loti area.
“A rocket hit the gas pipeline cutting off gas supply to the Loti gas plant from well No1,” official sources said. Three other pipelines supplying gas to the plant from the field had been blown up two days ago.
Work to repair the pipelines was affected because of presence of landmines in the area.
Reports were also received of 11 rockets fired in the Pir Koh area, targeting the mess and other facilities of the Oil and Gas Development Corporation. None of the rockets hit their targets.
Meanwhile, security forces arrested five people in the Mand area in connection with a recent attack on an FC convoy near the Tump area that claimed two lives.
Those arrested were identified as Khalil Ahmed, Amanullah, Mohammad Riaz, Mohammad Dawood and Mohammad Halim.
Official sources claimed that security forces destroyed two more camps of outlaws in the Dera Bugti area besides recovering huge quantities of illegal arms and ammunition.
“Rockets, mortar shells and heavy weapons and ammunition were seized from the camps,” the sources claimed. They said the situation was normal in the troubled area.
However, district nazim Mohammad Kazim Bugti said that security forces were still shelling the area although people had left Dera Bugti.
“Dera Bugti town is wrecked by heavy shelling by personnel of security forces,” he said.
