QUETTA: Three people, among them a security man, were killed and 24 others injured in a bomb blast in Satellite town here on Saturday, police said.

An explosive-laden car parked near the old bus stand was blown up by remote control when two FC vehicles were passing through the place.

A child and four Frontier Corps personnel were among the injured.

The outlawed United Baloch Army (UBA) claimed responsibility for the attack.

UBA spokesperson Mureed Baloch told journalists by phone that the attack was a reaction to the alleged siege of Spliengi area in Mastung district by security forces.

The dead and the injured were shifted to the civil hospital by security personnel.

Capital City Police Officer Abdul Razaq Cheema said the target of the attack was FC convoy. He said one of the FC vehicles was hit by the blast.

The explosion was so powerful that it was heard far and wide, sowing fear among people.

Quoting hospital sources, police said five of the wounded were in critical condition.

The identity of the dead FC man could not be ascertained. The other deceased — Mohammad Munir and Samandar Khan — were labourers who were waiting to be hired.

A police official said most of the injured were daily wage earners. He said around half a dozen vehicles were damaged and windowpanes of several nearby buildings were smashed by the blast.

Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch condemned the blast and directed the officials concerned to provide best available treatment to the injured.

He asked police and other law-enforcement agencies to take all possible steps for the arrest of elements involved in the blast.

AFP adds: A member of a bomb disposal unit said that high quality explosives weighing up to 40 kilograms had been used to make the bomb.

An FC spokesman, Manzoor Ahmed, confirmed that one soldier died in the attack.

Published in Dawn, September 14th , 2014