ISLAMABAD: At least nine persons were killed and 20 others injured on Friday when a powerful car bomb went off outside the home of the son of a politician in Quetta city of southwest Pakistan , police said.

The blast ripped through the residence of Shafeeq Mengal , the son of former Balochistan CM Mir Muhammad Naseer Mengal.

At least nine persons were killed, police officials told the media. Nearly 20 injured people, including a boy, were taken to a nearby hospital. Officials described the condition of two of the injured as serious.

Preliminary investigations showed the bomb was planted in a car, he said. There was no word on the fate of Shafeeq Mengal.

The blast in a residential area near Arbab Karam Khan Road was heard from several kilometres away. It blew out the windows of nearby structures and caused severe damage.