ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Two suicide bombers set off explosions Wednesday in a secure area of Quetta, Pakistan, causing dozens of casualties, authorities said.
The attacks occurred in the Civil Lines area, near the home of the commissioner of paramilitary forces.
Geo News reported the attackers targeted paramilitary forces responsible for the capture of key al-Qaida operatives this week in Quetta.
The attack killed at least 23 people and injured 40 others, the report said.
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CNN, quoting officials, said the first attacker rammed a car carrying explosives into parked security vehicles outside the home of Brig. Farukh Shehzad, a senior official of the Quetta Frontier Corps paramilitary force.
The second attacker, who was on foot, managed to enter the house, blowing himself up when confronted by a security officer, Quetta government official Naseem Lehri told CNN.
Those killed included six security personnel, and Shehzad's wife, the report said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the twin attacks.
The corps, with help from U.S. intelligence agencies, had earlier captured three al-Qaida senior operatives including Younis al-Mauritani, a top figure in the terror group who had been suspected of planning attacks on American oil pipelines, tankers and other targets.
Pakistani media had reported al-Mauritani had been personally chosen by slain al-Qaida head Osama bin Laden to hit targets of economic importance to the United States, Europe and Australia. Bin Laden was killed May 2 by U.S. forces in his compound in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad.
Geo News quoted authorities as saying more than 220 pounds of explosives were used in the two blasts.
The attack site is near other government buildings and official residences including that of the governor and chief minister, Geo News said.
Quetta is the capital of southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province, which has been the scene of much sectarian and militant violence. Resource-rich Balochistan has been a troubled province in Pakistan, with armed Baloch rebels demanding autonomy and a greater share of the region's income from Islamabad.
