June 2013 Quetta attacks

{{short description|Series of bombings in Quetta, Pakistan}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox civilian attack | title = June 2013 Quetta attacks | partof = the [[Balochistan conflict]] |map ={{Location map | Pakistan | width = 250 | lat_deg = 30.21 | lon_deg = 67.01 | label = Quetta }} | location = [[Quetta]], [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]], [[Pakistan]] | target = Women's University students, Pakistan security forces | coordinates = | date = 15 June 2013 | type = [[bomb]]ing, [[Suicide attack|suicide bombing]], shootings, siege | fatalities = 26<ref name="NYTimes" /> | injuries = 20+<ref name="NYTimes" /> | perp = [[Lashkar-e-Jhangvi]] }} {{Pakistan terrorist attacks}}

On 15 June 2013, a series of bombings resulted in the deaths of 26 people and injuries to dozens more.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/06/15/3452663/militants-destroy-house-used-by.html|title=Bomb on Pakistani women's university bus kills 14|work=Miami Herald| date=2013-06-15|access-date=2013-06-15}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22925058|title=Pakistani city of Quetta in shock after double attack|publisher=BBC|date=16 June 2013|access-date=2013-06-16}}</ref> On the same day, separatist militants [[2013 Quaid-e-Azam Residency attack|attacked and demolished]] the historic [[Quaid-e-Azam Residency]] in Ziarat.

== Background == Quetta, a city in the south-west with a population of 900,000, has faced persistent violence, primarily directed at the Shia Muslim minority, frequently attributed to organizations like [[Lashkar-e-Jhangvi|Laskar-e-Jhangvi]].<ref name=":0" />

In [[January 2013 Pakistan bombings|January 2013]], a bombing at a snooker hall claimed the lives of at least 81 individuals, predominantly Shia Muslims. Similarly, in February, nearly 90 people perished in a bomb explosion at a marketplace located in a Hazara Shia area of the city.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2013-01-10 |title=Pakistan blasts: Scores killed at Quetta snooker hall |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-20969443 |access-date=2024-02-26 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Attacks == {{expand section|date=June 2013}} The attacks began with the detonation of an explosive device attached to a bus carrying students from [[Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University]].<ref name="NYTimes" /> The blast completely destroyed the vehicle, killing 14 women and injuring 19 others. A short time later, a suicide bomber struck at the nearby Bolan Medical Complex, where victims of the initial bombing were being treated. A team of five gunmen then forced its way into the compound, as senior Quetta political officials were visiting the injured, sparking an hours-long shootout with security forces. The attacks resulted in at least 12 casualties, including four attackers, four [[Pakistan Army]] soldiers and four hospital nurses. One of the gunmen survived the assault and was captured by government forces.<ref name="NYTimes">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/world/asia/attacks-in-baluchistan-province-shake-pakistan.html|title=Attacks Test New Pakistan Government|work=The New York Times|date=2013-06-15|access-date=2013-06-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/11-students-killed-in-bus-bombing-at-pakistan-university/article4817300.ece|title=11 students killed in bus bombing at Pakistan university|work=The Hindu|date=2013-06-15|access-date=2013-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22919001|title=Pakistan blast kills female students|publisher=BBC|date=2013-06-15|access-date=2013-06-15}}</ref>

It is believed that the intended targets of the bus bombing were Shia from the [[Hazara people|Hazara]] ethnic minority, who have been the targets of previous sectarian attacks in Balochistan. However, due to an earlier change of route, the bus carried a more ethnically mixed group and has been described as "the wrong target" of the perpetrators.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Cruel beyond belief |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2013/06/22/cruel-beyond-belief |access-date=2024-07-10 |work=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Pakistan}} *[[Human rights violations in Balochistan]] *[[Quetta attack (disambiguation)|Quetta attacks]]

== References == {{Reflist|33em}} {{coord missing|Balochistan, Pakistan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quetta attacks, 2013}} [[Category:2013 murders in Pakistan]] [[Category:21st-century mass murders in Pakistan]] [[Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2013]] [[Category:2013 mass murders]] [[Category:Lashkar-e-Jhangvi attacks]] [[Category:Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2013]] [[Category:Suicide bombings in Pakistan]] [[Category:Mass shootings in Pakistan]] [[Category:Suicide bombings in Quetta]] [[Category:University and college shootings in Asia]] [[Category:Suicide bombings in 2013]] [[Category:School bombings in Pakistan]] [[Category:2013 building bombings]] [[Category:2010s sieges]] [[Category:Sieges involving Pakistan]] [[Category:Violations of medical neutrality]] [[Category:Health disasters in Pakistan]] [[Category:Battles in 2013]] [[Category:University and college killings in Pakistan]] [[Category:Femicide]] [[Category:Violence against women in Pakistan]] [[Category:Attacks on schools in 2013]] [[Category:Bus bombings in Pakistan]] [[Category:2013 road incidents in Asia]] [[Category:June 2013 in Pakistan]] [[Category:June 2013 crimes in Asia]] [[Category:University and college bombings]]