Quetta/ISLAMABAD - At least nine people, including eight policemen and a civilian, were killed and 21 others injured in a terrorist attack on a police office in Loralai district of Balochistan on Tuesday.

Army and FC Balochistan troops were called in as three armed suicide bombers attacked the DIG Office in Loralai where 800 candidates were present for enrolment in Balochistan police.

The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan or TTP and which is separate from the Afghan Taliban, claimed responsibility.

Releasing details of the incident, an ISPR statement released in Rawalpindi said the security forces got cleared the DIG complex Loralai, killing all the terrorists during the operation. Around 800 candidates present in compound taking an exam to join the force safely evacuated by the security forces, it added.

Earlier this afternoon, three armed suicide bombers attempted entry into the DIG police office compound Loralai. Police on duty responded and shot one of three suicide bombers at entry of the DIG complex who also blew himself ukp. Other two started indiscriminate firing and got into one of the side rooms.

As a result, nine persons including three policemen, five civil employees of police and one civilian candidate embraced shahadat while 21 got injured including 12 policemen and nine civilian candidates.

Army and FC Balochistan troops safely evacuated around 800 candidates. During the clearance operation remaining two suicide bombers were also shot dead and the area was cleared. The injured have been shifted to CMH Quetta on Army helicopters, the ISPR said.

Giving more details, Balochistan Home Minister Zia Ullah Langau said that three terrorists stormed the office of DIG with automatic guns and hand grenades. One of the terrorists exploded himself at the main entrance of the compound after facing resistance and the other two managed to enter the complex and attacked people present inside.

Soon after the attack, police commandos and security forces rushed to the scene and cordoned off the compound. Extensive fire exchanges and a number of blasts of hand grenades were heard after the security forces entered the compound.

Medical Superintendent of Loralai Civil Hospital Faheem told local media that the death toll might further rise as four of the injured are in critical condition.

Militant violence in Pakistan has fallen sharply from the levels seen a decade ago, but incidents still occur periodically in Balochistan, which is at the center of the strategic China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure development project.

Earlier this month, at least four members of the security forces were killed in an attack on a Frontier Corps training base in Loralai.

Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the cowardly act of terrorism in DIG Complex Loralai. He lauded the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and other security institutions for their timely action, which led to avoiding a big loss.

The Prime Minister prayed for eternal peace of those martyred and for early recovery of the injured. He said the cowardly act reflected the defeated mindset. “Our brave armed forces, police and nation were in high spirit,” he said, adding wherever the terrorist elements would try to emerge to fulfill their nefarious designs the state would fulfill its responsibility.

Pakistan had no place for terrorists and their facilitators, he added.

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani also condemned the cowardly attack on the DIG office in Loralai. He expressed grief over the loss of precious lives and ordered immediate arrest of all the elements involved in the cowardly terrorist attack on DIG’s office, said a press release issued in Quetta.

The chief minister said nefarious designs and coward attack of terrorists could not weaken the strong commitment and passion of police and security forces, it added. He ordered the health department to ensure all facilities to the injured and prayed for early recovery of the victims.