QUETTA, Nov 30 (EW): Two individuals, including a police officer and a civilian, died in a suicide attack near a Balochistan Constabulary truck in Quetta’s Baleli area on Wednesday, police said.
At least 24 other people sustained injuries in the attack, including 20 policemen and four civilians, according to Quetta Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Ghulam Azfar Mahesar.
The attacked security personnel were deployed for polio duty in the areas. The terror incident was reported as a polio vaccination campaign is underway in six districts of the southwestern region.
Rescue and police teams shortly rushed to the site while bomb disposal squad cleared the area.
Initial reports revealed that a suicide bomber detonated as he drove up close to the vehicle. At least 10kgs of explosives material was used in the blast, as ball bearings were found at the site of the blast.
The polio workers’ security team was attacked days after Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan announced to end of the ceasefire and announced attacks.
The attack comes amid renewed anti-polio vaccination efforts across Pakistan to consolidate the government’s successes in rooting out the crippling disease.
Polio is a highly infectious and debilitating disease that is usually spread through contaminated water or food. Invading the nervous system, the disease can cause total paralysis within hours.
The contagious virus thrived in the borderlands between Pakistan and Afghanistan where militants attacked and even killed anti-polio teams.
