Three killed in Quetta firing

Three people were killed and two injured when gunmen riding motorcycles fired at them in this Balochistan capital, but it was not immediately clear whether it was a terror attack.

Quoting hospital sources, APP news agency said on Friday that three people identified as Arshad Mehmood, Atef and Abdul Khaliq were sitting in front of a public call office (PCO) at Kalat Street when the motorcycle riders opened fire on them on Thursday night.

Arshad Mehmood and Atef died on the spot while Abdul Khaliq succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

A woman and a child who were inside the PCO were injured and were admitted to hospital for treatment.

The attack came on the day when at least 15 people were killed and about 100 injured in two back-to-back blasts that ripped through busy market places in Peshawar, capital of the troubled North West Frontier Province where the military has launched an operation against the Taliban.

The blasts occurred within minutes of each other in Qisa Khwani and Kabari Bazar in Quetta.

Several vehicles and dozens of shops were damaged in the blasts.

According to eyewitnesses, the explosion at Qisa Khwani occurred when a bomb planted in a car parked outside the market went off.

There were also reports of gunfire in the vicinity after the explosions, Aaj TV reported quoting police sources.

The military went into action on April 26 after the Taliban violated a controversial peace deal with the NWFP government and moved south from their Swat headquarters to occupy Buner, which is just 100 km from Islamabad.

Some 2.9 million civilians are estimated to have fled the fighting in Swat, Buner and Lower Dir districts of the NWFP.