ISLAMABAD, April 21 (APP): Four persons were killed and 12 injured in a blast in a vehicle in the parking of Quetta’s Serena hotel Wednesday night.
According to initial investigations, the blast seemed to be a Vehicle Based Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED), DIG Quetta Azhar Akram told reporters at the site.
Deputy Commissioner Quetta Aurangzeb Badini confirmed the number of dead and injured and said the injured were shifted to the hospitals and were getting medical care. He said that it was a combination of a VBIED and a Suicide Blast which also injured two assistant commissioners.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told a news channel that there were reports that the anti-Pakistan elements were active and more terrorist activities could take place in some large cities – Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Karachi. he said an alert has already been issued in this regard.
He however said that the nation with the support of the armed forces would defeat these terrorists, as the people of Pakistan were united. He termed the incident part of “an international conspiracy against Pakistan.”
Police, fire and rescue services rushed to the crime scene. The dead and injured were shifted to the hospital and the area secured.
DIG Quetta denied the presence of some high profile guests at the Serena hotel at the time of the blast.
Witnesses reported hearing a huge explosion followed by fire which shattered the window panes of the nearby buildings. The blast damaged a number of vehicles parked inside the hotel compound. Images shared by people on social media showed several damaged vehicles.
The spokesperson of the Balochistan Government strongly condemned the incident and said the perpetrators would face the law of the land.
There was an immediate widespread condemnation for the perpetrators of the blast and prayers for the injured.
