Pakistan bomb blast leaves 9 injured

A powerful bomb blast in a Pakistani town bordering Afghanistan injured nine people, including two security personnel, an official said on Saturday.

The blast took place near the Levies line in Chaman town, which is located few kilometres away from the country's border with Afghanistan.

The bomb fitted on a motorcycle went off close to the Levies quarters on Taj road.

Nine people, including two Levies soldiers, were injured in the blast, the official said.

The blast was directed at a paramilitary official who escaped unhurt in the incident. He was travelling in his car along with his security guards when the explosion occurred, the official said.

Chaman is considered a sensitive town in Baluchistan as it shares a border with Afghanistan's volatile Kandahar province.

In September 2019, a bomb blast killed senior leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Mohammad Hanif and two others including a young boy in the main bazaar of Chaman.

Pakistan closed its border at Chaman on March 2 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in some parts of Afghanistan.