At least three people including one paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed and 22 others were injured in a remote controlled bomb explosion in Quetta city of southwestern Balochistan province of Pakistan on Saturday, officials said.
A senior police official, Superintendent (SP) Imran Qureshi said, in a statement, that militants targeted a convoy of the FC on the Link Road in Satellite Town area of Quetta city, killing at least three people including one FC personnel.
He said that several shops and vehicles were also destroyed in the blast, adding that the explosion was so powerful that it was heard far and wide.
According to bomb disposal experts, around 30-40 kilograms of explosives, along with ball bearings and nails, were used in the powerful bomb.
Security forces immediately cordoned off the scene and a search operation went underway. Rescue teams shifted the injured to the nearby Civil Hospital for medical treatment where an emergency was imposed.
Militants have been targeting government security forces, national installations and civilians in troubled Balochistan province for over a decade.