QUETTA, Sept 18: A car-bomb exploded on Tuesday when a bus carrying Shia pilgrims got close to it, killing three people and injuring nine, official sources said.

Outlawed Jaish-i-Islam claimed responsibility for the attack that took place on RCD highway in the Mastung district. “Three persons were burnt alive as the bus caught fire after the powerful blast,” the sources said.

Officials said the Levies-escorted bus was coming from the border town of Taftan to Quetta, adding the pilgrims were returning after visiting holy places in Iran.

The car was parked at Ganji Dori area, some 35km from Quetta, and it exploded when the bus reached there.

According to the sources, after the explosion a number of small blasts took place inside the bus. “Gas cylinders carried by the pilgrims for cooking food during their stay in Iran exploded one after another, causing huge fire which engulfed the bus in no time,” the sources said.

“Three people, including the bus cleaner, have died,” Mastung Deputy Commissioner Irfan Gharsheen said.

Three Levies personnel, two women, three children and the driver were injured. A senior Levies official said bodies burned beyond recognition. “Three of the Levies personnel escorting the bus were injured and their vehicle was damaged by the impact of the blast,” he added.

“It could be a suicide car bomb attack,” the deputy commissioner said, but added the exact nature of the blast would be established only after the investigation.

Ghazi Haq Nawaz, who introduced himself as a spokesman for Jaish-i-Islam, called reporters and claimed that the attack had been carried out by their ‘Mujahideen’. The bomb was detonated by remote control, he added.—Saleem Shahid