STORY: Explosion injures 11 in SW Pakistan
DATELINE: Sept. 15, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:28
LOCATION: Islamabad
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the explosion site
2. various of the injured being sent to the hospital

STORYLINE:

Eleven people, including a leader of a religious political party, got injured in an explosion in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Thursday, police said.

The leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) was on his way to attend a political rally in Kalat district when he was attacked while passing by Mastung district of the province, the police told media.

Talking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, police sources from Mastung said that according to initial reports, the leader Hafiz Hamdullah's vehicle was hit by a suicide bomber.

The sources added that the suspected bomber rammed his explosive-laden motorbike into the leader's vehicle on a main highway in the district.

Talking to media, the JUI's spokesperson Aslam Ghauri said that the leader and his two gunmen got injured in the attack and have been shifted to a nearby hospital.

Ghauri confirmed that the leader received minor injuries and is in stable condition.

Police said that a passenger van was passing by Hamdullah's vehicle when the incident happened, and eight passengers also got injured after being hit by glass windows that shattered due to the explosion's impact.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

The area has been cordoned off for investigation.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Islamabad.
(XHTV)