https://www.dw.com-The blast in the city of Quetta was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, who struck a cease-fire with Islamabad following talks in Kabul in May. It targeted police officers who were escorting a polio vaccination drive.
A suicide bombing in the city of Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta killed at least two people killed and injured over 23 on Wednesday.
The Pakistani chapter of the Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack in the Balochistan province’s capital.
The attack took place a day after Pakistan sent its first high-level delegation to Kabul since Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took oath in April.
What do we know about the attack?
A local police officer said that the blast targeted a police team who were preparing to escort polio vaccinators. The explosion knocked a truck with police officers into a ravine and also damaged a nearby car with a family inside.
He confirmed that “one police officer and a child” were among the deceased. Most of those wounded were also police officers.
The attack came amid a spike in new polio cases among children. The latest campaign is the fifth vaccination drive this year and aims to inoculate children under 5 in high-risk areas.
Currently, Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries where polio hasn’t been eliminated.
Pakistan’s Taliban end cease-fire
Two days before the attack the TTP announced a shaky end to a cease-fire with Islamabad. They have now ordered their fighters to resume attacks across the country.
The TTP militant group, which claimed the attack, said that they were avenging the killing of former spokesperson Abdul Wali in August.
Islamabad and the TTP had agreed to an indefinite cease-fire in May after talks in Kabul. The TTP’s top leaders are hiding in Afghanistan.
The blast also comes two days after Pakistani Deputy Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khan traveled to Kabul to discuss a range of issues with the Afghan Taliban. Islamabad wants Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban to prevent the TTP from attacking from Afghan soil.
The TTP is an umbrella organization which fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan during the 1990s. In the last two decades, it’s organization has claimed the lives of around 80,000 people.
sdi, ns/dj (AP, AFP, dpa)