\u2022 Suicide bomber rams explosive-laden vehicle into security convoy; over 30 troops wounded
\n\u2022 ISPR says three militants killed, vows to bring perpetrators to justice
\n\u2022 Security beefed up in Quetta amid \u2018threats\u2019, police and paramilitary personnel on active patrol<\/p>\n
QUETTA: At least five people, including three security men, embraced martyrdom while about 40 troops sustained injuries on Sunday after militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a security convoy near Noshki on the Quetta-Taftan highway.<\/p>\n
The military\u2019s media wing confirmed the suicide bombing, saying five people were martyred in the attack, including two civilians. Officials told Dawn that a convoy of Frontier Corps comprising eight vehicles \u2014 six coa\u00adches and two cars \u2014 was on its way to Nokundi from Quetta. When it reached near the Darkhshan flour mill near Noshki, a powerful explosion took place near a coach, followed by the suicide attack.<\/p>\n
\u201c[A] suicide bomber rammed the explosive-laden car into one of the coaches and detonated it,\u201d a senior security official told Dawn, adding that the coach caught fire after the explosion. However, seven other vehicles remained safe in the attack and they were promptly moved to safety.<\/p>\n
Sources said the suicide bombing was followed by heavy gunfire by militants who were hiding in the nearby mountains. However, the security forces returned the fire and an intense shoot-out ensued, lasting over an hour. Soon afterwards, the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. Heli\u00adcopters were also witnessed hovering in the area during the operation.<\/p>\n
Local authorities said the bodies and the injured were shifted to the Noshki Teaching Hospital. \u201cFive bodies and over three dozen injured were brought to the hospital,\u201d a senior officer told Dawn, adding that the injured and the bodies were later shifted to Quetta on a helicopter. The injured were admitted to the Quetta Combined Military Hospital. Officials said two helpers, who got injured in the suicide car bombing, were out of danger after they were operated at the CMH.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued in the evening, Inter-Services Public Relations said a vehicle-borne suicide bomber \u201cexploded himself on a security forces convoy in Noshki\u201d. \u201cResultantly, five brave sons of soil embraced shahadat; three security forces personnel and two innocent civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n
The martyred \u201cincluded Havildar Ma\u00adn\u00adzoor Ali, 38, resident of Nawabshah, Havildar Ali Bilawal, 39, resident of Naseerabad, Naik Abdul Raheem, 34, resident of Badin), civilian driver Jalaluddin, resident of Quetta and civilian driver Muhammad Naeem, resident of Kharan\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the ensuing sanitisation operation, the terrorists were pursued and after intense fire exchange, three terrorists were effectively neutralised by the security forces,\u201d the ISPR statement said. It further added that sanitisation operations in the area would continue and perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act will be brought to justice.<\/p>\n
The attack was claimed by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army.<\/p>\n
Security beefed up<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the security measures have been tightened in Quetta. The security has been beefed up in the city, and the Zehri Flyover has been closed to traffic due to the prevailing security threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe overhead bridge at the \u2018Koila Phattak railway crossing\u2019 has also been closed for security reasons in view of the security threat till further order,\u201d Hamza Shafqaat, Quetta commissioner told Dawn. Heavy contingent of security forces, including police and paramilitaries, were patrolling in and around the city.<\/p>\n
Govt denounces attack<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of lives. The president prayed for the high ranks of the departed souls and for the bereaved families to bear the losses with fortitude, said a statement issued by his office.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the blast. \u201cSuch cowardly acts cannot deter our resolve to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Balochistan Governor Jaffar Khan Mandokhail and Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti also denounced the deadly bombing. \u201cWe will not allow the peaceful situation of our province to be sabotaged under any circumstances. It is the government\u2019s responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the lives and property of the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2022 Suicide bomber rams explosive-laden vehicle into security convoy; over 30 troops wounded \u2022 ISPR says three militants killed, vows to bring perpetrators to justice \u2022 Security beefed up in Quetta amid \u2018threats\u2019, police and paramilitary personnel on active patrol QUETTA: At least five people, including three security men, embraced martyrdom while about 40 troops […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6945,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6943\/revisions\/6945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}