Pakistan: 13 killed in twin blasts

At least 13 people, including women and children, were killed and nine others injured on Thursday in a powerful explosion outside the home of a provincial minister in Quetta and a landmine blast in Kurram tribal area, the latest in a slew of terror strikes across Pakistan.

The blast in Kurram region occurred when a vehicle hit a landmine, killing 10 people and injuring six others, witnesses and local officials said. About 20 people were travelling in the vehicle, which hit the landmine in Dole Ragha area. They were returning home to celebrate the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr festival. Several women and children were among the dead, officials said. No group claimed responsibility for the blast, but Taliban militants have stepped up attacks ahead of Eid across the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.

In a separate incident, a powerful bomb went off outside the home of a provincial minister at Quetta in southwest Pakistan, killing three people and injuring as many others. The bomb is believed to have been planted in an SUV parked at the residence of Balochistan Finance Minister Mir Asim Kurd Giloo in the posh Railway Housing Society. Giloo was not at home when the explosive

device went off, police said.

Three persons -- an employee and a security guard of the minister and the driver of a tractor-tanker that was delivering water to the house -- were killed by the explosion, they said. Witnesses said their body parts were strewn all over the blast site. Giloo, who was at the provincial secretariat, rushed back to his home but police barred him from going inside. The minister and his family were taken away to an undisclosed location by police. Police officials said it was yet to be determined how the bomb was planted in the vehicle. The blast blew out the windows of nearby buildings and triggered a minor fire at the minister's home that was controlled by the fire brigade. No group claimed responsibility for this blast as well.

Several ministers, bureaucrats and political leaders have their homes in the Railway Housing Society. Quetta has witnessed an upsurge in violence, including bomb blasts and suicide attacks, in the past few days. Nearly 70 people were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a rally organised by Shia students in the city last week. Kurram tribal agency has also witnessed sectarian violence and militant attacks in recent times.