16 people killed in attack targeting Hazara community in Pakistan’s Quetta

Pakistani police say a powerful bomb has exploded at an open-air market in the western city of Quetta, killing at least 16 people and wounding 30 others.

Police chief Abdur Razzaq Cheema said Friday’s bombing took place near a residential area where members of the persecuted minority Hazara community live.

He said authorities transported the dead and wounded to hospitals, where some of the victims were listed in critical condition.

“Emergency has been declared at hospitals and it seems people from the Hazara community were the target,” said Cheema.

“The attack took place in a shop. An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was planted in a gunny sack of potatoes. Whether it was timed or remote-controlled, our experts will tell us. Right now they are investigating,” DIG Cheema said.

Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province.

Jam Kamal Khan, Balochistan’s chief minister, condemned the bombing, saying “the enemy of humanity is behind this act of terrorism”.