QUETTA: Five labourers were killed and five other people, including two security personnel, injured in a bomb blast near Sibi town on Friday evening.

Official sources said the blast occurred in the Tandori area, some 30km from Sibi town.

The labourers who were killed and injured were travelling in a pick-up which was targeted by the roadside bomb which went off when the vehicle was passing through the area.

Deputy Commissioner of Sibi Syed Zahid Shah confirmed the incident, saying that the blast was very powerful.

The deceased labourers, who were going to Tandori to work on a water pipeline project in the area, belonged to Punjab, a security official said.

Four of the deceased were identified as Usman Yousaf, Haider Ali, Mazhar Hussain and Mohammad Bashir.

“It was an improvised explosive device which was planted at the roadside of the mountainous area between Sibi and Harnai.”

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.

Soon after receiving information about the incident, security personnel rushed to the area and shifted the bodies and the injured to a hospital in Sibi.

The two injured security personnel were travelling with the labourers to provide them security, Deputy Commissioner Shah said.

After the attack, security forces launched a search operation in the area to arrest the elements involved in the incident.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2021