QUETTA: At least one person was killed and 13 others were wounded on Thursday morning in an explosion near Sabzi Mandi in Quetta's Satellite Town area.

Security and emergency teams reached the blast site. Security forces cordoned off the area as a probe into the incident went underway.

A senior police official, Imran Qureshi, told Dawn that the bomb was planted in a Suzuki car and all victims were civilians.

CCPO Abdul Razzaq Cheema said that 30 to 40 kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the blast.

Akbar Hussain Durrani, the provincial home secretary, said that the target of the remotely-detonated bomb was a security forces' vehicle.

The casualties were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta where the condition of one wounded was reported as critical.

A view of a vehicle destroyed in the blast in Quetta. — DawnNews screengrab

The explosion destroyed two cars and damaged buildings in the vicinity.

Reports of gunfire were also received following the loud blast.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

There were few people present in the area, which is normally a bustling whole-sale market. The incident comes a day after unknown militants had killed two policemen in Quetta's Shalkot area.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s resource-rich and largest province by area, suffers from an upsurge in sectarian violence and attacks by separatist militants.

Armed militants have targeted security forces and pro-government politicians for over seven years in the province which borders Afghanistan and Iran.