Bomb kills 11, injures 27 in Pakistani city

A powerful bomb exploded next to an army truck in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta yesterday, killing at least 11 people and injuring at least 27, officials said.

The bomb, weighing at least four kg, had been attached to a bicycle, officials said.

A shadowy nationalist group, the Baluch Liberation Army (BLA), claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying that the army personnel were its target.

Baluchistan, Pakistan's largest but most backward province, borders Afghanistan and is awash with smuggled weapons and drugs.

The blast in the centre of the city wrecked the army truck and at least eight other vehicles. At least 10 shops in a business district were also damaged, witnesses said.

Human body parts and blood were splattered around the busy square, which was sealed off by the security forces.

"It was a mighty explosion," said Abdullah, a witness who gave only one name. "I saw people screaming and running and the dead and the wounded strewn on the road."

Several victims were killed on the spot, and others died in hospital, doctors said.