QUETTA, Jan 18: A Frontier Corps soldier was killed and another injured in a landmine explosion in Pirkoh area while several rockets were fired at FC checkposts in the Kohlu district on Wednesday.

Besides, a powerful explosion rocked Quetta, causing panic among people.

Sources said that an FC vehicle hit a landmine planted near the Pathar Nullah area of Pirkoh gas field, killing the soldier, Mohammad Mazhar. Another FC man, Kamal Khan, was injured in the blast that also destroyed the vehicle.

Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) secretary-general Agha Shahid Hasan Bugti said that after the landmine incident security forces cordoned off the area and set around 30 houses on fire in a nearby village. He claimed the blast left one FC soldier dead and six others injured. He said paramilitary forces had changed their strategy and now they were attacking villages at night.

Reports said that rockets were fired at FC posts in different parts of Kohlu. At least 17 rockets were exploded near checkposts in the areas of Jandran, Nal and Kahan.

The FC personnel returned the fire, targeting positions of suspected attackers