Vehicle-borne suicide bomber targets security forces' convoy

Three soldiers, two civilians martyred in Nushki; three terrorists killed in sanitisation operation

QUETTA/ISLAMABAD:

Three security force personnel and two civilians were martyred when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into their convoy on the National Highway N-40 in the Nushki district of Balochistan on Sunday.

The morning suicide attack, claimed by the proscribed terrorist outfit, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), triggered a sanitisation operation by the security forces in which three more terrorists were pursued and killed in an intense fire exchange.

"On 16 March of 2025, a vehicle borne suicide bomber exploded himself on a security forces convoy in Nushki District. Resultantly, five brave sons of soil embraced shahadat; three security forces personnel and two innocent civilians," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

"In the ensuing sanitization operation, the terrorists were pursued and after intense fire exchange, three terrorists were effectively neutralized by the security forces," the ISPR, the media wing of the military, added in the statement.

"Sanitization operations in the area would continue and perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act will be brought to justice. Security forces of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan," it said.

Police said that 35 others sustained injuries in the blasts. "There were seven buses in the convoy which was heading to Taftan [on the Iranian border]. At Nushki, a car laden with explosives hit one of the buses," local police official Mohammed Zafar told AFP.

"Five people were killed and 35 wounded," Zafar said. Nuskhi district Senior Superintendent of Police Hashim Momand told Reuters that more than 30 paramilitary force members were wounded. Locals said that the injured were initially taken to local hospitals where emergency had been declared.

The ISPR identified the martyred as Havildar Manzoor Ali, 38, from Nawabshah district, Havildar Ali Bilawal, 39, from Naseerabad district, and Naik Abdul Raheem, 34, from Badin district, and two civilian drivers; Jalaluddin, a resident of Quetta district, and Muhammad Naeem, a resident of Kharan district.

"Such sacrifices of our brave soldiers and valiant civilians further strengthen our resolve," the ISPR stated.

The attack was claimed by the outlawed terrorist organisation, BLA, which attacked Jaffar Express train and took 450 hostages last week. The two-day siege ended on Thursday, when security forces in a dramatic operation, rescued hundreds of hostages and killed 33 terrorists.

President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi, and Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti condemned the terrorist attack in Nushki and assured that those behind this cowardly act would be brought to justice.

In their separate statements, the president and the prime minister, while expressing grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the terrorist attack, reiterated that such cowardly attacks could not shake the nation's resolve against terrorism.

The President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release that President Zardari "expressed his deep grief and sorrow over loss of lives " and prayed for the bereaved families to bear the losses with fortitude and wished early recovery of those injured in the incident.

A separate statement from the Prime Minister's Office stated that Shehbaz strongly condemned the atack and directed that the injured be provided with best possible treatment. "Such cowardly acts cannot deter our resolve to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country," he said.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi vehemently denounced the attack as a "barbaric act," reaffirming the government's unwavering commitment to combating terrorism. Naqvi emphasised that "targeting innocent people is the height of brutality".

Highlighting the government's resolve to protect the citizens from such heinous acts, he praised the bravery and sacrifice of security personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty, acknowledging that "the nation will always remember the sacrifices of its heroes".

Balochistan Chief Minister Bugti said that "cowardly attacks cannot lower our morale and terrorists will not find shelter anywhere", adding that those playing with the lives and property of the people would be brought to justice.

"There is no place for terrorists in Balochistan. We will establish peace at all costs, let the enemy elements listen, the state will crush their evil intentions," he said. "Every person of Balochistan is indebted to the blood of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for this holy land," he added.

Shahid Rind, a Balochistan government spokesperson, said in separate statement that the enemy elements "are making nefarious attempts to create instability" in the country, but the people's morale could not be lowered through terrorism.

(WITH INPUT FROM AGENCIES)