A bomb targeting a military truck killed nine people and injured at least 21 when it ripped through a packed market in the Pakistani city of Quetta Friday, officials said. The device, believed to have been attached to a bicycle, exploded near the vehicle in the main Mizaan Chowk commercial district of the city, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, police said. The victims were mostly passersby or market vendors, while a soldier also died, according to police and hospital officials. The province is in the throes of a tribal uprising that has sometimes targeted the military. “Nobody knew what happened. We thought it was an earthquake,” said vegetable seller Ali Mohammad, who was sitting across the road. “There were dead bodies and wounded and blood was splattered in the area.” Nasir Khan, a medical officer at Quetta’s Civil Hospital, said they had received seven bodies and two seriously wounded people died later. “One of the dead is a soldier,” he added. The hospital declared a state of emergency.
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