Dera Murad Jamali: Four killed in attack on OGDCL convoy
Liaquat Ali Bugti targeted in Sui explosion.
QUETTA:
At least four people, including a Frontier Corps (FC) official and an employee of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) were killed, while 18 others were injured near Dera Murad Jamali on Thursday after a convoy of paramilitary troops escorting OGDCL employees was attacked.
The assailants used a remote-controlled device for the explosion which was followed by intense firing. According to the police, around six kilogrammes of explosive materials were used in the blast. The device was attached to a motorbike parked near a fuel station on the national highway and was detonated when the convoy passed by.
Those killed were identified as FC personal Naimatullah, OGDCL employee Javed Iqbal, and two civilians named Nizamuddin Bhati and Mohammad Ishaq. Several motorbikes, rickshaws and shops were damaged as a result of the explosion.
“There was intense firing soon after the blast and many people received bullet wounds,” a witness said. The firing spread panic in Dera Murad Jamali, forcing people to shut their shops and run for shelter. The national highway connecting Sindh with Balochistan also remained closed after the incident, paralysing traffic for several hours.
Insurgent groups have carried out several attacks on OGDCL vehicles recently in Naseerabad division which shares its border with the unstable Bugti tribal territory.
Also on Thursday, Liaquat Bugti, son of a Member of National Assembly Ahmadan Bugti, narrowly escaped a remote-controlled explosion near Sui area of Dera Bugti. The blast left seven people, including two police personnel and a child injured, a district police officer said.
The explosion occurred after unidentified people planted a device in a motorbike and parked it outside a roadside hotel in Sui. The device was detonated when Liaquat Ali Bugti’s vehicle passed through the area.
Spokesperson for the banned outfit Baloch Republican Army, Sarbaz Baloch, calling from an unspecified location claimed responsibility for the attacks in Dera Murad Jamali and Sui. He said that his organisation will continue to carry out such attacks.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2011.
At least four people, including a Frontier Corps (FC) official and an employee of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) were killed, while 18 others were injured near Dera Murad Jamali on Thursday after a convoy of paramilitary troops escorting OGDCL employees was attacked.
The assailants used a remote-controlled device for the explosion which was followed by intense firing. According to the police, around six kilogrammes of explosive materials were used in the blast. The device was attached to a motorbike parked near a fuel station on the national highway and was detonated when the convoy passed by.
Those killed were identified as FC personal Naimatullah, OGDCL employee Javed Iqbal, and two civilians named Nizamuddin Bhati and Mohammad Ishaq. Several motorbikes, rickshaws and shops were damaged as a result of the explosion.
“There was intense firing soon after the blast and many people received bullet wounds,” a witness said. The firing spread panic in Dera Murad Jamali, forcing people to shut their shops and run for shelter. The national highway connecting Sindh with Balochistan also remained closed after the incident, paralysing traffic for several hours.
Insurgent groups have carried out several attacks on OGDCL vehicles recently in Naseerabad division which shares its border with the unstable Bugti tribal territory.
Also on Thursday, Liaquat Bugti, son of a Member of National Assembly Ahmadan Bugti, narrowly escaped a remote-controlled explosion near Sui area of Dera Bugti. The blast left seven people, including two police personnel and a child injured, a district police officer said.
The explosion occurred after unidentified people planted a device in a motorbike and parked it outside a roadside hotel in Sui. The device was detonated when Liaquat Ali Bugti’s vehicle passed through the area.
Spokesperson for the banned outfit Baloch Republican Army, Sarbaz Baloch, calling from an unspecified location claimed responsibility for the attacks in Dera Murad Jamali and Sui. He said that his organisation will continue to carry out such attacks.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 11th, 2011.