QUETTA: At least four people were killed and 18 injured in a bombing targeting a police vehicle in a marketplace in Quetta on Monday, a hospital official said.

Senior police official Shafqat Cheema told Reuters that the target was the vehicle of the acting superintendent of police investigations, which was parked in Kandahari Bazar.

He said initial reports showed an improvised device containing four-to-five kilogrammes of explosives was planted in a motorcycle parked behind the vehicle and detonated remotely.

Two police officers who were sitting in the vehicle were among the dead, Zohaib Mohsin Baloch, senior superintendent of police operations, said.

Wasim Baig, a spokesperson for the Quetta hospital, told Aaj News that the number of injured had reached 18 in addition to the four dead.

Banned group the Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the blast, which was the second attack in less than 24 hours on police in Quetta, located in the southwestern province of Balochistan.

In a statement, the group also said four people were killed, including two policemen.

The part of Kandhari Bazaar that was targeted is a busy marketplace with dozens of wholesale shops that mostly sell food items.

Before Monday’s attack, armed men on Sunday targeted personnel of the Police Eagle Squad in Quetta, killing two police officers and injuring another. One of the attackers was killed by police.

Balochistan is home to a number of China-backed economic projects under its Belt and Road Initiative, against which some militants have been protesting.

Quetta has been dealing with a separatist ethnic insurgency, at the same time as Pakistan is dealing with unrelated violence carried out by militants.

Last week Pakistan launched a nationwide operation to try to root out militants.

Separately, the spokesperson for the Quetta Civil Hospital said that four people were injured when a bomb exploded near a police vehicle at Sariab Road in Quetta on Tuesday.

“The bomb was planted on the roadside. No policeman was injured in the blast,” Sariab SHO Ehsanullah Marwat told Aaj News.

Initial reports showed an improvised device containing one-to-two kilogrammes of explosives was planted on the roadside near the vehicle and detonated remotely, the police said.

SHO Marwat said he was in the car at the time of the explosion. The bomb disposal squad was inspecting the site of the blast.

Condemnations

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast in Quetta, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

He condoled the bereaved families whose loved ones were martyred in the terror explosion. He prayed for the elevation of ranks of the martyred and for the early recovery of those who were injured in the attack.

The premier directed officials to provide all possible medical facilities to the injured.

He sought a report about the terrorist attack from the authorities concerned. He said the nefarious designs of the terrorists would be foiled.

The entire nation stood in solidarity with the deceased and paid tribute to them, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said.

“Terrorist elements cannot weaken the nation’s morale with such cowardly attacks,” he said and vowed that the perpetrators would be brought to justice and punished severely for their heinous acts.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari offered his condolences to the bereaved families.

“Targeting civilian populations including markets, schools and hospitals is barbaric. The entire nation, including the security forces, is determined to bring the terrorists to their logical conclusion,” he said.

PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari condemned the targeting of security forces and civilians.

He expressed sympathy and condolence to the families of those martyred in the blast.