Three killed in Quetta

QUETTA: Two policemen and a woman were killed in drive-by shootings in two neighbourhoods of Quetta on Monday. Police shot dead one of the attackers after a brief gunbattle.

DIG Abdul Razzaq Cheema said two terrorists opened fire after SP Saryab Zahoor Afridi intercepted them in the Killi Geo area of the city. SP Afridi remained unhurt in the attack that left a passerby woman and a child injured. The police retaliated quickly and took down one of the attackers after a brief gunfight.

DIG Cheema said the injured woman and child were being shifted to a nearby hospital when gunmen riding on a motorcycle targeted the police van again near Sabzal Road close to Killi Qambrani Intersection. As a result, two policemen were killed. In the meantime the woman succumbed to her injuries inside the police van.

Apparently, the same group was involved in both attacks, DIG Cheema said.

The dead policemen have been identified as Akhtar Muhammad and Inhamul Haq, while the slain woman has been named as Bibi Hafeeza. The attacker was identified from his CNIC as Mubashir Ahmed Kurd.  Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch condemned the deadly attack and ordered the police to submit a report in this regard.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2015.