Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claims responsibility for western Pakistan attack

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ISLAMABAD. KAZINFORM Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, an offshoot of leading Pakistani Taliban outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on Friday that killed 11 people and injured 25 others near the police headquarters in the western city of Quetta, EFE reports.

JuA spokesperson Asad Mansoor said the group's fighters had carried out a car bomb attack outside the Inspector General Police office in Quetta in a statement released in Islamabad.

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The attack claimed 11 lives and hurt 25 people, confirmed the bomb disposal team of the Pakistani interior ministry.

The explosion took place around 8.50 am local time near the police headquarters and was caused by 75-80 kilos of explosives kept inside a vehicle.

The blast also destroyed or damaged at least four cars and five bikes parked close to the site, an area that has been cleared off by authorities, the statement said.

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Six of the dead were policemen - the target of the attack - Anwar ul Haq, spokesperson of Baluchistan province told EFE.

"They killed the policemen who were deputed to protect the Inspector General's office," he said.

In their statement, the JuA said their aim was to have Islamic Sharia law implemented in Pakistan, where the group has claimed to have carried out most of the bloodiest attacks in recent years, mainly in Quetta and tribal areas in the northwest.

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Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif "strongly" condemned the incident in a statement, adding he had ordered federal and provincial authorities to catch the perpetrators.

Quetta is one of the most conflict-ridden areas in Pakistan and has been the scene of serious insurgent attacks, including one in Oct. against a police academy that killed 62 cadets and a captain.

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