Nine cops martyred in Bolan suicide bombing

Explosion occurred after suicide bomber rammed explosive-laden motorcycle into police van

QUETTA:

Nine policemen were martyred and 13 others injured in a powerful blast in Balochistan’s Bolan district on Monday.

A senior security official told The Express Tribune that a suicide bomber targeted the police van in the Kumbri area.

The policemen were returning from the Sibi festival after performing their duties, when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden motorcycle into the police van, damaging it severely. The blast was heard far and wide.

Read 14 terrorists killed in Balochistan, K-P operations

“We are collecting evidence from the spot,” the security official said. The target of the terrorists was the historic Sibi Mela that ended on Sunday. They were unable to target the centuries-old festival and succeeded in targeting the security personnel coming back to Quetta from Sibi, the official added.

Sources confirmed the martyrdom of nine policemen and 13 injured in the attack. “The constabulary van was on its way back to Quetta from Sibi when an explosion occurred near the vehicle on the Kumbri bridge in the area bordering Sibi and Kachhi districts,” Mehmood Notezai, the senior superintendent of police, said.

بولان کے علاقے کنبڑی پل کے قریب بلوچستان کانسٹیبلری کے ٹرک پاس دھماکہ اب تک کی اطلاعات کے مطابق چار افراد شھید اور دس سے ذائد ذخمی۔#Quetta pic.twitter.com/pLzZ7xMp0B

— Malik Ali Raza (@MalikAliiRaza) March 6, 2023

According to the official, preliminary evidence suggested that the blast was a suicide attack. However, he said the exact nature of the attack would be ascertained after investigation.

Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo strongly condemned the terrorist attack, vowing to bring the perpetrators of the blast to justice.

In a statement issued after the attack, Bizenjo directed the authorities to send a special helicopter to evacuate the injured of the blast.

“The culprits of the blast will be held accountable and justice will be provided to the heirs of the martyred,” Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Langove said.

“[The] injured in the Bolan blast [have been] shifted to Quetta for medical treatment,” an official of the Chief Minister Secretariat confirmed. He said the injured would be provided medical treatment at the Civil Hospital in Quetta.