Cop martyred in bomb-and-gun attack in Loralai

Suspected militant blows himself up when chased by police; another shot dead in exchange of fire

QUETTA: A police officer was martyred whereas three others sustained injuries in a blast in Balochistan's Loralai district on Monday.

According to details, the police’s Eagle Squad signalled two suspicious motorcyclists to stop but they did not heed the command and fled.

During the consequent chase, there was an explosion, which left the police officer martyred and the bomber dead.

Loralai District Police Officer (DPO) Jawad Tariq confirmed that one of the motorcyclists blew himself up as the officials were chasing the suspects. The bomber also died, he said, adding that the other assailant was killed by police during the shootout. He strongly condemned the incident.

Police and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) reached the spot and sealed the area to investigate the incident further.

A police sepoy Ghulam Muhammad was martyred in the blast, whereas three policemen Muhammad Niyaz, Abdul Manan, Mir Muhammad were injured and are currently being treated at a local hospital. The emergency has been imposed in the health centre.

Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal strongly condemned the terrorist act.

“Our police has valiantly fought in the face of the scourge of terrorism in the province and continues to do so," he said.

The chief minister reiterated that the security personnel have high morale and will not bow down to such cowardly acts and will chase these elements till the end.

Jam Kamal also expressed his solidarity with the martyred police officer.

Balochistan is no stranger to violence as on September 28, three people, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Deputy Secretary-General Muhammad Hanif, were martyred in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Chaman.

Ten others sustained injuries as the bomb exploded on Taj Road.

Maulana Muhammad Hanif was critically injured in the bomb blast and was being shifted to the Quetta hospital from Chaman when he succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital. Police said Maulana Muhammad Hanif was the target of the attack.

The blast occurred just kilometres away from the country’s border with Afghanistan and shattered windows of nearby buildings.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against unknown attackers by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD). 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2019.