2 killed, 25 injured injured in a blast in Pakistan

PTI, May 24, 2019, 4:02 PM IST

Islamabad: A powerful explosion ripped through a mosque ahead of Friday prayers in Pakistan, killing at least two persons and injuring 25 others in the restive Balochistan province, police said.

The blast, triggered through an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), targeted the Rehmannia Mosque in Pashtunabad area of the provincial capital Quetta, they said.

So far two persons were killed and 25 others injured in the attack, The Express Tribune reported.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema said that the blast occurred just before the Friday prayers started.

The injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta.

President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the terrorist attack in Quetta.

A security official said that the death toll could rise as it was a powerful explosion.

The blast came days after terrorists attacked the Pearl Continental luxury hotel in the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan, killing at least eight persons, including four civilians and a Pakistan Navy soldier.

Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.

At least 20 people were killed and 48 others injured last month in a blast at a fruit and vegetable market in Quetta’s Hazarganji area. The attack was claimed by the ISIS terror group.