LARKANA: A soldier was killed and 15 others, including five Rangers personnel, were wounded in two back-to-back bomb explosions targeting a vehicle of the paramilitary force on Mirokhan Road here on Saturday.

A remote-controlled bomb weighing half a kilogram and fitted to a bicycle went off when the vehicle drove past it, followed by the explosion of another device hidden in a pile of garbage nearby, said Larkana DIG Abdullah Shaikh.

The injured Rangers personnel — Shahid Siyal, Rashid, Bilawal, Ghulam Nabi, Salman and Sartaj — were taken to the Chandka Medical College Hospital, where Shahid Siyal died and the others were admitted for treatment.

Nine pedestrians injured in the blasts — Zulfikar Bhatti, Liaquat Khoso, Mohammad Anwar Chandio, Nabi Bakhsh Chandio, Abdullah Chandio, Fayyaz Shar, Ghulam Serwar Chandio, Nawab Dero and Abdul Khaliq Narejo — were also taken to the hospital, but they were discharged after being given first aid.

Amid tight security, Sindh Ran­gers director general Maj Gen Bilal Akbar visited the hospital to inquire after the health of the soldiers. He also visited the crime scene.

The bicycle used in the crime was destroyed. Within moments of the blasts shops in the area were closed.

Rangers and police personnel cordoned off the area from Chungi No 7 to Mirokhan Road for investigation. The bomb disposal squad was called in from Sukkur which collected evidence from the blast sites. The roads were reopened to vehicular traffic after five hours.

Suspects detained

DIG Shaikh constituted a committee comprising the senior superintendents of police of Larkana, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Shikarpur and the special branch to investigate the incident.

He told Dawn that two suspects had been picked up for interrogation and added that suspects hailing from the Qambar area might be involved in the attacks. The person who carried the remote control might have been present within 50 metres of the place of the explosions, he added.

Funeral prayer for soldier Shahid Siyal, held at the Rangers headquarters, was attended by Maj Gen Akbar, the commissioner, the deputy commissioner and the DIG of Larkana. Later, the body was shifted to Pathan village, some 12 kilometres from here.

The DIG said the newly elected chief minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, and IG A.D. Khowaja had phoned him and ordered stern action against the culprits. Maj Gen Akbar said the Rangers vehicle was targeted when it was on routine duty of schools security. In a brief talk with reporters after the funeral prayer, he said that investigations into the attack had been launched and it was premature to say anything about elements behind it. “Usually enemies of peace are involved in such incidents.”

He did not rule out the possibility of involvement of “people opposed to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor” in the blasts.

“Soon we will catch the criminals. People involved in the incident will be booked whether they are in Karachi or anywhere else in Sindh,” the Rangers director general said. “We are physically and technically examining the devices used in the blasts.”

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2016