Spiral of violence: Three bodies found dumped in Turbat

Policeman shot in Quetta; 17-kg bomb defused in Sui

QUETTA:

Three men were found dead in Turbat tehsil of Kech district on Sunday while a policeman was shot and injured in Quetta as violence continued unabated in the restive Balochistan province.

The Levies force found three bullet-riddled bodies in the Gur Kop area of Turbat. Levies official Sultan Mehmood said the men were killed during a Frontier Corps operation two days ago. The bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital Turbat.

The victims were identified as 16-year-old Naushad, Maqsood and Ghani Jan Muhammad. The men were residents of Turbat.

Policeman shot

In Quetta, unidentified gunmen opened fire at a police patrol vehicle, injuring a policeman in Musa Colony. Sariab police said the assailants riding a motorcycle attacked the police vehicle. The attackers fled taking advantage of the crowded place.

A policeman, identified as Muhammad Arshad, suffered bullet wounds and was shifted to the Civil Hospital Quetta where medics said the victims was shot in the abdomen. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the incident police and Frontier Corps conducted search operations in Saryab, Sabzal and Qambrani localities of Quetta and rounded up 20 suspects for questioning.

FC foils terror bid

Separately, a terror attack targeting security forces was thwarted after a 17kg bomb was defused in Sui. The paramilitary FC seized an explosive device attached with detonators in Sui. An FC spokesman said the explosives were planted on a roadside in the Khano Kila area to target a convoy of security forces.



The bomb disposal squad was called in to defuse the device. “The bomb weighed 17 kilos and could have caused massive destruction,” the FC spokesman added.

Meanwhile in Dera Murad Jamali, police intercepted three oil tankers heading towards Sindh and recovered smuggled diesel. According to reports, police recovered 17,000 litres of smuggled Iranian diesel from the three tankers. Police said that two persons were arrested, while rest of the crew managed to escape.

Four suspects held

The FC along with law enforcement agencies detained four suspected militants during a search operation in the Karbala area of Pishin district which borders with Afghanistan.

The FC spokesman said the security force raided a compound in Killi Islamzai and detained four suspected people hiding there.

The men were said to be members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. They have been shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

Following repeated military operations and air strikes in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) against militants a large number of people linked with terrorist outfits have been trying to find refuge in the areas of Balochistan that border with Afghanistan. However, due to relentless operations of the security forces, supported by strong network of intelligence agencies, the terrorists on the run from tribal areas have failed to find toehold in Balochistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2016.