Security forces end hospital under siege southwest Pakistan

Security forces cleared the Bolan Medical Complex that was under siege by the militants after multiple blasts killed 23 people in southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan on Saturday, police said. Police officials added in a statement that a blast inside a women university bus killed 14 female students and wounded over 25 people in Quetta city of Balochistan. The bus of Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University was proceeding from the university to Quetta city taking the students back to their homes. The bus caught fire after the powerful explosion killing 11 female students on the spot while three more students died in the hospital. Just after an hour of the university blast, another bomb exploded inside the emergency ward of the Bolan Medical Complex Quetta where all the injured people of the first blast were shifted. The blast was followed by the gunshots by the militants who occupied the hospital and prevented the security personnel from entering the premises of the hospital, said police officials. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan in a press conference told that security forces have now cleared all parts of the Bolan Medical Complex. "According to our official reports, four terrorists have been killed in the operation while one suspect has been arrested from outside the hospital," said the interior minister. Chaudhry Nisar also told that the death toll has risen to 22 including 14 female students, four Frontier Corps personnel and four terrorists. Capital City Police Officer Mir Zubair Mehmood has confirmed that Deputy Commissioner of Police Abdul Mansoor Khan who received shots in head and chest by the militants has died. A large number of doctors, medical staff and patients were trapped inside the hospital as the building was taken under siege. The Interior Minister confirmed that the security forces have carried an operation and freed 35 hostages. He said further details of the operation to clear the hospital would be announced later. Earlier, a militant attack on the historic house of founder of Pakistan, Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jiinah with hand grenades destroyed the historical monument in Ziarat area of southwestern Pakistan on wee hours of Saturday. President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the Quetta bombing and ensured full support to the provincial government against the militants.