<p>A powerful blast at a mosque during Friday evening prayers killed at least 15 people, including an Imam and a senior police officer, and left 20 others injured in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, three days after a bomb explosion claimed two lives in Quetta.</p>.<p>The nature of the explosion, which occurred inside the mosque during Maghrib prayers in Ghousabad neighbourhood, was not immediately known, Dawn newspaper reported.</p>.<p>Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Amanullah was among the 15 people killed in the incident, Quetta Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdul Razzaq Cheema said.</p>.<p>According to some media reports, the slain police officer was the likely target.</p>.<p>Last month, unidentified gunmen killed the DSP's son in Quetta, The Express Tribune reported.</p>.<p>Twenty others were also injured in the blast, the report said.</p>.<p>Law enforcement agencies have cordoned off the area to investigate the incident.</p>.<p>The mosque, which is located in a densely-populated Pashtun-majority area, was being searched be the bomb disposal squad and security personnel.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, an emergency has been declared at all hospitals in the area.</p>.<p>TV footage showed debris and shattered glass spread on the floor of the mosque.</p>.<p>No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.</p>.<p>Pakistan military's media wing ISPR said that troops of the Frontier Corp (FC) Balochistan have reached the site and were carrying out joint search operation with the police.</p>.<p>"Every possible assistance be given to police & civil administration. Those who targeted innocents in a mosque can never be true Muslim," the ISPR quoted army chief General Qamar Bajwa as saying.</p>.<p>Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan condemned the incident and expressed grief at the loss of lives.</p>.<p>Reacting to the incident, Balochistan Home Minister Zia Langove condemned it, saying "terrorists were scared of Pakistan's development".</p>.<p>"Internal and external enemies are making failed efforts to create panic and unrest in the country," he said in a statement.</p>.<p>He said that "defeated terrorists will never be allowed to succeed".</p>.<p>The blast occurred three days after two men were killed and over a dozen injured in a blast near a vehicle of the security forces in Quetta.</p>.<p>In May last year, a bomb blast at a mosque in the provincial capital Quetta killed two people, including a prayer leader and injured 28 others. In August, an explosion took place inside a mosque during Friday prayers in the city. </p>
<p>A powerful blast at a mosque during Friday evening prayers killed at least 15 people, including an Imam and a senior police officer, and left 20 others injured in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, three days after a bomb explosion claimed two lives in Quetta.</p>.<p>The nature of the explosion, which occurred inside the mosque during Maghrib prayers in Ghousabad neighbourhood, was not immediately known, Dawn newspaper reported.</p>.<p>Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Amanullah was among the 15 people killed in the incident, Quetta Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abdul Razzaq Cheema said.</p>.<p>According to some media reports, the slain police officer was the likely target.</p>.<p>Last month, unidentified gunmen killed the DSP's son in Quetta, The Express Tribune reported.</p>.<p>Twenty others were also injured in the blast, the report said.</p>.<p>Law enforcement agencies have cordoned off the area to investigate the incident.</p>.<p>The mosque, which is located in a densely-populated Pashtun-majority area, was being searched be the bomb disposal squad and security personnel.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, an emergency has been declared at all hospitals in the area.</p>.<p>TV footage showed debris and shattered glass spread on the floor of the mosque.</p>.<p>No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.</p>.<p>Pakistan military's media wing ISPR said that troops of the Frontier Corp (FC) Balochistan have reached the site and were carrying out joint search operation with the police.</p>.<p>"Every possible assistance be given to police & civil administration. Those who targeted innocents in a mosque can never be true Muslim," the ISPR quoted army chief General Qamar Bajwa as saying.</p>.<p>Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan condemned the incident and expressed grief at the loss of lives.</p>.<p>Reacting to the incident, Balochistan Home Minister Zia Langove condemned it, saying "terrorists were scared of Pakistan's development".</p>.<p>"Internal and external enemies are making failed efforts to create panic and unrest in the country," he said in a statement.</p>.<p>He said that "defeated terrorists will never be allowed to succeed".</p>.<p>The blast occurred three days after two men were killed and over a dozen injured in a blast near a vehicle of the security forces in Quetta.</p>.<p>In May last year, a bomb blast at a mosque in the provincial capital Quetta killed two people, including a prayer leader and injured 28 others. In August, an explosion took place inside a mosque during Friday prayers in the city. </p>