QUETTA - A suicide bomber killed four paramilitary soldiers and a gunman shot dead two policemen in a separate attack in Quetta on Wednesday.
Four security men were martyred and eight others sustained injuries Wednesday evening when a terrorist, wearing a jacket containing 8-10 kg explosive material, blew himself at an FC camp in Quetta.
A civil defence official confirmed the suicide explosion at an FC check post in the area of Khooni Talab in Nohisar, Quetta.
“A pedestrian bomber of 15 to 20 years of age, wearing a suicide jacket of 8-10kg high explosive with ball bearings, blew himself at an FC check-post in the area of Khooni Talab in Nohisar,” revealed the civil defence official, sharing initial details of the investigation.
He said four security men embraced martyrdom and eight others were wounded in the suicide hit. The injured were immediately shifted to Combined Military Hospital. A heavy firing was also reported following the blast, said Levies officials. Contingents of security forces rushed to the area and launched a search operation.
The bomb disposal squad cleared and secured the area for public after examining the forensic evidence on the site, said the civil defence official.
The martyred FC personnel were identified as Muhammad Amir, Muhamamd Imran, Javed Ahmed and Muhammad Rashid. It was the second attack on security forces in Quetta city on a single day in which six law enforcers embraced martyrdom and eight others were injured.
In the second incident, two police constables were martyred and a child sustained bullet injuries when unknown armed assailants targeted DSP (Prosecution) Hamidulllah Dasti’s vehicle at Samungli Road here Wednesday morning. The DSP, however, remained safe in the terror hit.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack. The group’s spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said in a message that such attacks will continue to take revenge for the killing of detained militants.
“Three assailants fired at DSP Hamidullah Dasti’s vehicle from both sides when he was heading towards his office,” said Deputy Inspector General Police Abdur Razzaq Cheema.
According to initial reports, three gunmen opened fire on the vehicle, martyring two policemen. “DIG Hamidullah Dasti, however, narrowly escaped,” Razzaq Cheema told media persons after visiting the crime scene.
Dasti was en route to a prison to take militants on trial to court. Dasti was traveling in a bulletproof vehicle, but the guards were not.
The DIG stated both the deceased were wearing bulletproof jackets, but they were shot in their heads.
A large number of police personnel cordoned off the area after the incident and launched a search operation to hunt down the culprits.
The dead bodies of the policemen, identified as Muhammad Tahir and Muhammad Ayub, were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta for medico-legal formalities.
“The bodies of the two police constables were brought to Civil Hospital Quetta,” confirmed Dr Waseem Baig, spokesman for the hospital. Dr Waseem added a child, Samiullah, injured in the Samungli Road firing incident, is also under treatment at the hospital.
The funeral prayers of the martyred security men, offered at the Police Lines, were attended by Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansaar, Quetta Commissioner Amjad Ali Khan, DIG Abdur Razzaq Cheema, Additional IG Chaudhry Manzoor Sarwar and other high-ups.
Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai and Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of two precious lives. They strongly condemned the incident and paid homage to the martyred police constables. Lawyers’ bodies observed boycott of courts to protest the terror incident.
FC recovers explosive material
Online adds: Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad continues across the country as Frontier Cops (FC) took into possession suicide jacket, explosive material from Balochistan.
According to FC sources, FC along with others law-enforcing agencies conducted raids against terrorist in different cities of Balochistan and took into possession suicide jackets and heavy explosive material.
Sources further said that terrorist had concealed explosive material for use of terrorism activities.