One killed, 9 injured in bomb blast near Hindu temple in Pakistan

A child was killed and nine others were injured when a bomb went off in a densely populated area with Hindu temples in Pakistan’s restive southern province of Balochistan on Sunday, according to media reports.

The bomb was attached to a motorcycle parked in a bazar on Taj Road in Chaman town, which borders Afghanistan.

Police said the blast killed an eight-year-old boy who was passing by. The injured were taken to the local Civil Hospital.

Two vehicles were destroyed in the blast, which ripped through in a densely populated area with a few Hindu temples, the Express Tribune newspaper reported on its website. TV news channels reported the blast occurred near a Hindu temple.

The target of the blast could not immediately be ascertained. No group claimed responsibility for the explosion.

Pakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan provinces have sizeable Hindu populations. Hindus make up less than 2% of Pakistan’s population of more than 180 million.

Chaman is one of two main crossing points for supplies for American and NATO troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

First Published: Feb 22, 2015 17:55 IST