A powerful blast targeting a senior police officer in Pakistan’s Balochistan province has killed at least five people and injured a further 38, six of whom are in serious condition.

Two security personnel died in the blast, which also left numerous women and children injured. It remains unclear whether it was a suicide attack or a remote detonation, though police have established the device was on board a nearby parked motorcycle.

The apparent target was the local Station House Officer (SHO) who had been out on patrol Wednesday morning. The SHO’s condition remains critical.

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“The bomb went off as soon as SHO Shaffat got down from his vehicle,” Quetta Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of police Abdul Razzaq Cheema said.

The banned terrorist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the blast according to local media.

It was the second bomb attack within a week in Quetta, the provincial capital; on July 23, a bomb killed four and injured 32.

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