QUETTA, Aug 26: Militants blew up gas pipelines in Quetta and Dera Bugti, damaged power pylons in Dera Bugti and Dera Murad Jamali and fired rockets on the Sui gas purification plant on Sunday.
In Quetta, two hand-grenades were hurled into a house in the Sariab road area. One of the grenades exploded, damaging windowpanes of the house.
Three powerful explosions were reported from Khuzdar, Pasni and Mach.
A vehicle of security forces was blown up by a landmine in Dashat Goran area of Dera Bugti. The vehicle was badly damaged.
According to official sources, an explosive device placed under a gas pipeline in Killi Omar blew up, suspending gas supply to many villages near Quetta.“A portion of the pipeline caught fire after the powerful blast. Gas supply to the affected pipeline was stopped to put out the fire,” said an official of the Sui Southern Gas Company.
A high explosive device placed under a 12-inch gas pipeline providing gas to Dera Bugti town from the Pir Koh gas field went off, suspending supply to Dera Bugti town and some other areas.
Sources said that militants damaged two towers of the 132-KV Sui-Dera Bugti transmission line.
“Two rockets exploded in the fenced area of the Sui purification plant,” said a senior official.
He said that the plant was safe as it was away from the place of explosion.
A bomb planted near an electric pylon near the house of a school-teacher exploded, rocking the coalmine town.
The gate of the house was damaged and windowpanes of many nearby houses were smashed.
Another blast took place in Khuzdar near the Wapda office, causing slight damage to the wall of the office.
Police defused a bomb that had been planted near the Government Girls High School in Killi Shiekhan.
A spokesman for the Anjuman Ittehad Marri claimed that law-enforcement personnel conducted raids on the new Kahan camp on the outskirts of Quetta and arrested 32 people.
Police sources said that a bomb exploded near the house of police constable Din Mohammad in Kalat, damaging the wall of his house.
Meanwhile, an unknown caller identifying himself as Bebeerg Baloch and a spokesman of the banded Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for all the blasts and rocket attacks in Pir Koh.
“The BLA carried out these blasts and attacks,” he told newsmen gathered at the Quetta press club.
