On 21 April 2021, a
car bomb
A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles.
Car bombs can be roug ...
ing killed at least five people
and injured another twelve at the
Serena Hotel,
Quetta
Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...
,
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, near the
Afghan
Afghan or Afgan may refer to:
Related to Afghanistan
*Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...
border.
Bombing
Ziaullah Lango, Balochistan provincial Home Minister said, that the blast took place in the
parking lot
A parking lot or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdi ...
of the hotel.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad announced that the primary target was believed to be
China's
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
to Pakistan, Nong Rong.
Although the ambassador was staying at the luxury hotel, he was not there at the time of the bombing. Another possible reason given for the attack was that the bombing in the city of Quetta took place hours after Pakistan opened a new border crossing with neighboring
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, a move that many have criticized. The Interior Minister confirmed that none of the hotel guests were injured, but a police officer and two security guards had been identified among the five victims.
Responsibility
The
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility, saying it was a
suicide attack
A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...
.
See also
*
August 2021 Quetta bombing
On August 9, 2021, two bomb blasts in Quetta killed two policemen and injured 21 others, including eight policemen.
The bombing
One of the blasts took place near the Serena Hotel at Unity Chowk. The second blast was caused by a grenade attack ...
*
September 2021 Quetta bombing
*
Quetta attacks
References
2021 in Balochistan, Pakistan
2021 murders in Pakistan
Serena Hotel bombing
21st-century mass murder in Pakistan
Anti-Chinese sentiment in Pakistan
April 2021 crimes in Asia
April 2021 in Pakistan
Hotel bombings in Pakistan
Mass murder in 2021
Serena Hotel bombing
Suicide bombings in 2021
Serena Hotel
Suicide car and truck bombings in Pakistan
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan attacks
Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2021
Car and truck bombings in 2021
Building bombings in Quetta
2021 building bombings
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