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QUETTA: Eleven people, including six children, were killed and 12 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up at an Imambargah in Bhag, some 200km east of Quetta, in Bolan district on Thursday evening.
People were offering Maghrib prayers at Imambargah Kazmia in Chalgari village at the time of the suicide attack.
It was the second bombing in Balochistan over the past two days.
Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch held an emergency meeting soon after the tragic incident to review the security plan for maintaining law and order during Muharram.
“A man wearing a suicide jacket entered the Imambargah and detonated it at the doorstep, killing 11 people and injuring 12 others,” Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti said, adding that the dead included six children who were close to the doorstep.
According to sources, the people had gathered at the Imambargah in connection with a 9th of Muharram Majlis. But first they offered Maghrib payers.
“The suicide bomber, aged between 18 and 20 years, was wearing a veil,” a senior official of the local administration said, adding that the children killed in the blast were 10 to 12 years old.
There were unconfirmed reports that some women were among the injured.
Initial investigations suggested that the veil had helped the bomber reach his target undetected.
“The bomber blew himself up during the second Rakat,” Abdul Rehman Bangulzai, a resident of the area, told Dawn over phone. He said the bomber managed to enter the Imambargah in spite of tight security.
The blast shook the entire area and limbs and other parts of bodies were found 200 yards away from the scene. Some bodies were burnt.
“Security personnel found the head of the bomber near the Imambargah,” Mohammad Wasim, an official of the local administration, said.
Personnel of Frontier Corps, Levies and other law-enforcement agencies rushed to the site and cordoned off the entire area. They took the bodies and the injured to District Hospital Sibi with the help of local people. An FC helicopter was also used for shifting the injured to the hospital.
The seriously injured people were later shifted to the Civil Hospital in Quetta.
Those killed were identified as Mohammad Ashraf, Imtiaz Ali, Zahoor Ahmed, Gehwar Khan, Niaz Ali, Bashir Ahmed, Ali Sher, Jamil Ahmed, Sohail Ahmed, Abdul Salam and Lal Mohammad.
Chief Minister Malik Baloch, Acting Governor Mir Abdul Qadoos Bizenjo, Senior Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, former speaker of the Balochistan Assembly Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali and other leaders condemned the attack and termed it a barbarian act.
“The elements involved in killing innocent people have nothing to do with humanity and Islam,” Dr Malik said.
He said terrorists had fled to far-flung areas of the province because of strict security arrangements made by the government in the main cities, including Quetta. He said the terrorists who were killing innocent people would be brought to justice at any cast.
He directed the officials concerned to take steps to ensure foolproof security in Quetta and other areas of Balochistan during Ashura.
The chief minister announced a compensation of Rs1,000,000 each for families of the people killed in the suicide attack, Rs500,000 for the seriously injured and Rs100,000 for the injured.
Security was tightened in Quetta and other towns and cities of Balochistan after the Bhag suicide bombing. The number of FC troops and policemen was increased in sensitive areas.
No one claimed responsibility of the attack till late night.
Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2015
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