File Photo. Asif Hassan—AFP
IED was planted near an electricity pole and also destroyed two shopping carts and two motorcycles
The Counter-Terrorism Department on Saturday made public its initial probe into an explosion in Rawalpindi on Friday night that killed one person and injured 15 others.
According to the investigation’s preliminary results, the blast occurred at 8:43 p.m. near the city’s Koyla Center in Saddar. It was an improvised explosive device, which was placed near an electricity pole, and left a crater in the ground after the explosion.
Two shopping carts, and two motorcycles, were destroyed in the explosion. Police said the casualties might have been higher but most shops had already been shut at the time of the blast in line with the preventative measures in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Rawalpindi police spokesman Sajjadul Hassan had told AFP after the blast that while no group had claimed responsibility for the attack, it appeared to be an attempt at “organized terrorism.”
He vowed that the culprits would not escape the law.
This is the second bomb explosion in Rawalpindi in 2020; on March 12, five persons were injured .after a cracker bomb exploded in the city’s Kabari Bazaar.