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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Bombing kills 4 in Baluchistan |
| 2004-09-01 |
| A bomb explosion killed four people and wounded fifteen others at a sweet shop in Qalat, a small town 140km south of Quetta on Tuesday. The three dead included two intelligence officers. According to police, the homemade bomb had been planted inside the shop. The explosion occurred at about 1130am, said Provincial Home Secretary Abdul Rauf. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast and it was not immediately clear who was behind it. Police said investigations were underway. The three men who died were intelligence officers Syed Tauqir Shah and Mushtaq Shah, and the shopkeeper, Sheikh Manzoor. The fifteen wounded were taken to Qalat Civil Hospital. It wasn't clear if the two law enforcement agents were the targets, although police official Salim Lehri said they routinely went there for breakfast and lunch. It is believed the two officers were eating when the bomb exploded. The explosion also damaged several nearby shops and an electrical transformer that caused a power cut in the area. Officials say the violence in Balochistan is not connected with the ongoing military campaign against Al Qaeda militants in the semi-autonomous western tribal regions of Pakistan. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |