ISLAMABAD: At least four people, including two policemen, were killed and 18 injured in a blast in Quetta, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s volatile southwestern Balochistan province, on Monday. This was the second attack on police in Balochistan in less than 24 hours after two cops were gunned down by unknown assailants in Killi Spine area of the province’s Kuchlak district.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying two police officers were killed because of their involvement “in inhumane treatment of Baloch civilians under the pretext of investigations”.
Senior security officials said the target of Monday’s blast was a police vehicle. “The explosives planted in a motorcycle were detonated by remote control,” said Zohaib Mohsin, senior superintendent of police. He said the deceased included a minor girl while women and children were among the injured.
“According to initial information, three to four kilos of explosives were used in the blast,” the police official said, adding, “Due to the blast, two vehicles, including the police van, were damaged.” TV footage showed a damaged police automobile surrounded by several personnel.
Last week, the National Security Committee (NSC), Pakistan’s top decision-making body for national security and major foreign policy matters, had decided at a high-level meeting to kick start an all-out comprehensive operation against militant outfits.
For the past few months, Pakistan has been gripped by a spate of terror attacks with even the country’s bigger urban centres such as Karachi and Peshawar under the radar of militants targeting security forces.
The Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), a think tank in Islamabad, stated that the number of terrorist attacks in the country have increased by 27% last year as compared to 2021. At least 419 people were killed, while 734 were injured in 262 terrorist attacks last year.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying two police officers were killed because of their involvement “in inhumane treatment of Baloch civilians under the pretext of investigations”.
Senior security officials said the target of Monday’s blast was a police vehicle. “The explosives planted in a motorcycle were detonated by remote control,” said Zohaib Mohsin, senior superintendent of police. He said the deceased included a minor girl while women and children were among the injured.
“According to initial information, three to four kilos of explosives were used in the blast,” the police official said, adding, “Due to the blast, two vehicles, including the police van, were damaged.” TV footage showed a damaged police automobile surrounded by several personnel.
Last week, the National Security Committee (NSC), Pakistan’s top decision-making body for national security and major foreign policy matters, had decided at a high-level meeting to kick start an all-out comprehensive operation against militant outfits.
For the past few months, Pakistan has been gripped by a spate of terror attacks with even the country’s bigger urban centres such as Karachi and Peshawar under the radar of militants targeting security forces.
The Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS), a think tank in Islamabad, stated that the number of terrorist attacks in the country have increased by 27% last year as compared to 2021. At least 419 people were killed, while 734 were injured in 262 terrorist attacks last year.