Pakistani security officials examine the site of a bomb explosion in Quetta on Thursday. At least 11 people were killed and 30 injured in a series of attacks in the southwestern Pakistani city.
AFP/Quetta
At least 11 people were killed and 30 injured in a series of attacks in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Thursday, including a suicide bombing at a rally by a leading religious political party.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman, head of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) party was leaving a rally in the capital of Pakistan's restive Baluchistan province - where he had addressed thousands of people - when his car was targeted by a suicide bomber, officials said.
Abdul Razaq Cheema, the city's police chief said: "It was a suicide attack. One person has been killed and more than 17 injured. Some of the injured are in critical condition."
Rehman, who leads the biggest religious party in parliament, believed he was the target.
"I was in a bulletproof car and that's why I survived. There is blood and human flesh on my car," he told the Geo News TV channel.
"My car was badly damaged, almost destroyed. The windscreen of my car was completely cracked, we received a big shock but me and friends inside the car are safe and alive."
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Rehman and his party have been targeted by the Pakistani Taliban in the past, even though he once acted as a negotiator between the militants and the government.
A bombing at a JUI-F election rally in May 2013 killed more than 20 people, while the leader was targeted twice in as many days by bombings in 2011.
Earlier, gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Shias at a fruit and vegetable bazaar on the outskirts of the city, killing eight people just days ahead of the holy month of Muharram.
"At least nine Hazara Shias were sitting in a minibus after buying vegetables when two gunmen opened fire on them with automatic weapons, killing eight of them and wounding another one," senior local police official Imran Qureshi said.
City police chief Cheema also confirmed the incident and casualties.
A rescue worker at the site said the blood-soaked dead bodies had fallen on top of each other, many struck by bullets to the head. They were later moved to an area hospital.
The Islamic month of Muharram is due to begin on Saturday or Sunday depending on the sighting of the new moon.
Hours after the market attack, a bomb targeted a convoy of the government paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) in Quetta, killing two passers-by and injuring 12 others.
"This bomb was planted in a motorcycle parked on the Qambrani road. Two passers-by were killed as result of this blast and 12 others were wounded," Cheema said.