Security forces unearth 'bomb-making factory' in Balochistan

FC spokesperson says large cache of explosives, suicide vests, accessories used in making IEDs and RPGs were recovered

QUETTA: Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan and officials of the security forces recovered a large cache of explosives, suicide vests, accessories used in making improvised explosive devices (IED) and rocket propelled grenades (RPG) from a factory in Chaman on Wednesday.

“FC along with officials of the security forces conducted a raid on a tip-off at a ‘bomb-making’ factory in Rehman Kohl area of Chaman district,” a FC spokesperson told The Express Tribune.

Read: Balochistan sees ‘substantial drop’ in violence

“Terrorists were using the factory for making suicide vests and landmines,” the spokesperson added.

Last month, at least three militants who were strapping an IED to a rail track died after they accidentally detonated a hand grenade and set off a blast in the Bala Nari area of Bolan district in central Balochistan. The militants were planning to blow up the rail tracks and derail a train. “The saboteurs were placing a bomb on the railway track, but it went off prematurely,” an official of the Levies Force had said. “The militants were planting the bomb when a hand grenade exploded accidentally triggering the IED too,” said Bala Nari tehsildar Kamran Raisani.

Further, provincial authorities believe that Balochistan has witnessed a substantial drop in violence this year. Experts believe that this development would help pave the way for a ‘conclusive reconciliation plan’ as regards the estranged Baloch leaders that was stalled due to different challenges in the troubled province.

Read: Twist of fate: Militants die in bombing bid

Official documents, put together for the Balochistan apex committee monitoring the progress of the National Action Plan, claim a ‘dramatic decrease’ in violent incidents in the volatile areas of the province. The provincial home department says the emerging situation is the result of the joint efforts of the military and the civilian government for establishing peace in the province.