Islamabad: Five people were killed and 38 others injured in a bombing outside a police station in Pakistan’s Quetta city, authorities have said.

The blast took place close to a police vehicle at the Bacha Khan Chowk in the remit of the City Police Station on Tuesday, Quetta’s Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of police Abdul Razzaq Cheema said.

The target of the blast appeared to be the Station House Officer (SHO) of the area who received some injuries and has been shifted to a hospital, the DIG told reporters.

“The bomb went off as soon as SHO Shaffat got down from his vehicle,” he said, adding that the condition of the SHO is said to be critical.

Cheema said it was too early to confirm whether it was a suicide attack or the blast caused by a remotely triggered device.

Police said the bomb was planted in a motorcycle parked close to the patrolling vehicle. Five people, including two cops, were killed and 38 others injured in the attack.

Three people died on the spot, police said.

The injured included women and children who were passing through the area when the bomb went off in the heart of the city. The condition of at least six of them was stated to be serious.

Eight of the wounded are listed in serious condition at hospitals in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province.

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, which took place late in the afternoon.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan issued a statement condemning the attack and expressing sorrow over “the loss of lives.”

Quetta, home to more than 1 million people, is one of the most dangerous cities in Pakistan due to the presence of armed groups, including Baloch separatists, the Pakistani Taliban and other terrorist factions.

Two people died and 16 were hurt last week in a motorcycle-bomb attack on the outskirts of the city. And a year ago, Quetta suffered the worst terrorist incident in Pakistan’s history: an attack on a political rally that left 149 people dead.

Earlier, police officials said terrorists had planted explosives in a motorcycle and parked it near the police vehicle before it was detonated.

A contingent of the law enforcement agencies threw a security cordon around the area as rescuers continued evacuations.

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the blast, according to a report in a leading Pakistani daily.

The injured and bodies of the dead were shifted to the Civil Hospital, where officials confirmed the death toll.

The impact of the blast was so strong that it shattered the glass windows of nearby shopping malls and damaged parked vehicles and motorcycles.

Home Minister Mir Zia Langove said the government would not be cowed down by such attacks and the mission to purge the province of the menace of terrorism would continue.

Balochistan Governor retired Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai, Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan and his cabinet members strongly condemned the bomb blast and expressed their grief and sorrow over the loss of lives of innocent people.

It was the second bomb explosion within the last seven days in the provincial capital. On July 23, a blast had occurred in the Eastern Bypass area which left four people dead and 32 injured.

Balochistan has been wrecked by ethnic, sectarian and separatist violence for more than a decade.