A powerful car bombing near the office of the provincial police chief in southwestern Pakistan on Friday (June 23) killed at least 11 people and wounded 20, reports ABC News quoting state officials.

The explosion near the police chief’s office in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province, was powerful enough that it was heard across the city, shattering windows of nearby buildings, said police spokesman Shahzada Farhat.

Wasim Beg, a spokesman at a government hospital, said the death toll from the bombing had risen to 11 throughout the morning. He said some people remained in critical condition. TV footage showed several badly damaged cars and a road littered with broken glass.

Anwarul Haq Kakar, a spokesman for the provincial government, said the bomb was planted in a moving car, but officers were trying to determine whether it was a suicide attack.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Kakar blamed India for the blast. He offered no evidence.

However, on Thursday (June 22), Pakistan said that an Indian naval officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and sabotage, had petitioned for mercy.

BDST: 1338 HRS, JUN 23, 2017
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