FC under attack: Suicide bomber kills 10 in Quetta’s Red Zone

Nearly two dozen also wounded in attack targeting FC convoy

QUETTA:

A suicide attack targeting a convoy of a paramilitary force killed at least 10 people, including four troops, and wounded nearly two dozen others in the high security area of Quetta on Saturday.

A spokesperson for the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Muhammad Khurasani, claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to Reuters news agency. The attack was the latest in Balochistan which is home to the planned route of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

A convoy of the Frontier Crops (FC) was patrolling the Red Zone of Quetta when a suicide bomber riding a bicycle triggered his explosive belt next to a truck in the convoy, police said. At least 10 people, among them four FC troops, and a woman and her child, were killed and 23 others wounded.

Law enforcers and paramilitary troops cordoned off the site as rescuers ferried the casualties to hospitals and investigators looked for vital forensic evidence. Sources said five vehicles, four motorcycles and three auto-rickshaws were damaged in the explosion that also shattered the windows of offices in the neighbourhood.

DIG Sayed Imtiaz Shah confirmed it was a suicide attack and the target was the FC convoy. “The bomber carried 12 to 15 kilos of explosives,” he added.

The Balochistan government spokesperson said it could a reprisal attack for ongoing intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in the volatile province. “Security forces have carried out 250 IBOs against terrorists in the province,” Anwarul Haq Kakar told The Express Tribune.

“Terrorists are playing a psychological game, but the morale of our security forces is sky high,” he added. “The government will not tolerate any act of terrorism in the province, and we will root out this menace once and for all.”

Kakar said it could also possibly be the handiwork of the elements who wanted to sabotage the economic corridor project. The military has said a number of times that India is bankrolling and training terrorists to stoke violence in the province.

Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani concurred. “Terrorists are targeting our security forces because they want to sabotage the CPEC project,” he said, adding that the security forces were rendering unmatchable sacrifices to maintain peace in Balochistan.

IGFC Major General Sher Afgun reaffirmed his resolve to eliminate terrorists from Balochistan. “Action against terrorists will be expedited to restore peace in the province,” he added.

Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri condemned the suicide attack and expressed grief over the loss of lives. He also announced financial compensation for those killed and injured in the attack.

In other violence, gunmen shot dead a policeman and injured three others, including a child, in Quetta on Saturday. The gunmen opened fire at a police van on Sariab Road, killing the man in the driving seat, and injuring three others, including a child.


Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2016.