Four die in Kalat hotel bomb blast

QUETTA-A car bomb blast killed at least four people on the spot and wounded 11 others near a hotel at main highway in Kalat district, some 200 kilometers away from the provincial capital on Tuesday. According to official sources, unknown people fitted an explosive device with a car parked outside a hotel which was crowded with customers, adjacent to a petrol pump some five kilometers from Soorab town at Gurgut area on the main highway linking Quetta to Karachi. The device exploded and killed four persons on the spot and wounded 11 others five of them seriously. The injured were immediately shifted to nearby hospital and after providing them medical aid some seriously injured were referred to Khuzdar hospital for further treatment. The injured were identified as Mehar Dil, Azat Sher, Shah Nawaz, Mussa Jan, Manzoor Ahmed, Mir Hassan, Gul Muhammad, Saif-ur-Rehman, Irshad Adam, Naheem Shah and Hafeezullah. Three deceased were identified as Abdul Shakir, Muhammad Sarwar and Abdul Qadir, who were stated to be residents of Qila Abdullah, Gulistan, Khyber Agency and Dadar. The identification of fourth deceased is yet to be ascertained. 'Some drivers of trucks carrying NATO supplies to Afghanistan stopped at a hotel for taking lunch, a police officer from Kalat said and ,added, it was not clear whether the device was planted inside the car or on the roadside, however, the apparent target was trailers. According to eyewitnesses, a man driving a white car came to hotel and parked his vehicle. As he left the car a huge blast occurred that killed four people on the spot and shattered windowpanes of the hotel. On being informed, police and other law enforcement agencies rushed to the spot, cordoned off the area and started collecting remains of body parts and evidences. 'According to preliminary reports it was a suicide attack, said DIG Ghulam Rasool Domki while talking to newsmen. He said that body parts of unidentified deceased person who was suspected to be suicide bomber had been collected and a team reaching from Quetta would conduct its DNA test. No group so far claimed responsibility for the incident. It may be mentioned that several drivers of trucks carrying supply for NATO forces in Afghanistan were either shot dead or injured and some time their trucks were also burnt in main highways between Karachi-Quetta and Chaman.

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