QUETTA, May 26: Two men were killed and 20 others, two women among them, injured in two rocket attacks here on Saturday evening.

Abdul Salam, 17, a labourer passing through Kandahari Bazaar on a bicycle, and Gul Zaman, another passer-by, were killed and 16 others injured when a rocket hit a shoe shop.

Police said Abdul Salam hailed from Qila Abdullah district and Gul Zaman from Pishin. A vehicle and the shop hit by the rocket were damaged.

A police official said most of the shops were closed when the rocket exploded.

Another rocket fired from the same direction exploded in Basti Panchayat, a predominantly Christian neighbourhood, injuring four people.

“At least four houses were badly damaged in the rocket attack,” Quetta police chief Mir Zubair said.

“Most of the people were attending a funeral when the attack took place,” Khalil Bhutto, a resident, said. A rocket had hit the colony way back in 2005, he recalled.

One Murid Baloch called reporters to claim that the United Baloch Army was responsible for the attacks. “Our target was the cantonment, but the rockets landed in a city area.”