QUETTA, Pakistan, Dhu-AlQa'dah 20, 1438, August 12, 2017, SPA -- A bomb exploded near a crowded market in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, officials said, the latest attack to hit the restive southwestern province of Baluchistan. The powerful blast hit as a paramilitary patrol passed by on the road, Baluchistan provincial home minister Sarfraz Bugti said, adding the patrol may have been the target. "According to the information we have received so far, there are around 15 casualties, people who were martyred, and around 40 people were wounded," Bugti said. He said a state of emergency had been imposed in the city and all hospitals were on alert. Pakistan's army press wing said the patrol was the target and there were at least seven civilians among the 15 killed. It cited army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa as saying terrorists were trying to disrupt Monday's celebrations of 70 years of independence from Britain. "Our resolve won't succumb to any challenge," Bajwa was quoted as saying in an official tweet from a top military spokesman. --SPA 22:34 LOCAL TIME 19:34 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w464859