25 killed in suicide attack on police in Quetta

Twenty-five people, including several top police officers, were killed when a suicide bomber targeted the funeral of a slain policeman in Quetta city of southwest Pakistan today.
The bomber struck as hundreds of people, including top police officers of Balochistan province, were attending the funeral of police station chief Mohib Ullah, who was gunned down this morning.
The attacker detonated his explosive vest when he was stopped by guards at the gate of a mosque within the Police Lines in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
Twenty-five people, mostly policemen, were killed and 40 others injured, Deputy Superintendent of Police Wahid Baksh said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Fayyaz Sumbol, a Superintendent of Police and a Deputy Superintendent of Police were among the dead, officials said.
The provincial police chief and city police chief had a narrow escape. Several children were among the injured.

The bomber carried out the strike despite extensive security arrangements within the Police Lines. Police cordoned off the area and launched a rescue and search operation.
The victims were taken to a military hospital due to fears that civilian hospitals might be attacked. After a recent bombing at a women's university in Quetta, militants attacked the hospital where the injured were taken.

Officials of the bomb disposal squad said the attacker's vest contained an estimated eight kilograms of explosives.
Earlier in the day, police station chief Mohib Ullah was killed and his four children and a driver were injured when unidentified gunmen attacked his car at Alamu Chowk in Quetta.
Mohib Ullah was going to the market with his children when he was attacked.
No group claimed responsibility for both attacks. Several militant groups, including the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, are active in Balochistan.