Attack from Iran?: Girl killed, four injured in rocket attacks
The houses, allegedly belonging to a Jundallah leader, were hit in the morning.
Iranian border guards allegedly fired mortars into populated areas of Mashkail toThe houses, allegedly belonging to a Jundallah leader, were hit in the morning. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
QUETTA:
A three-year-old girl was killed and her parents and two siblings sustained serious injuries on Monday when rockets hit a residential area in Kech district in Balochistan.
Three rockets – fired from an undisclosed location – hit three houses at around 5:00am.
“There were three huge explosions heard as far as 25 kilometres away in Tump, on the outskirts of Turbat,” a local officer of Balochistan Levies told The Express Tribune.
“The houses were destroyed. These residences allegedly belonged to Mullah Umar, a member of Jundallah – a banned militant group, and his relatives,” he said.
Mullah Umar is a wanted man in Iran for his alleged involvement in targeting Iranian security forces. The first two rockets, left huge craters before two houses, but did not result in casualties. However, the third rocket landed on the house of Abdul Qayyum, close relative of Mullah Umar, killing Qayyum’s daughter, and injuring him and his family.
“The dead and injured were taken to hospital where injured are said to be in critical condition,” an officer of Levies said.
Personnel of Balochistan Levies and law enforcement agencies reached the spot and started an investigation by collecting evidences from the crime scene.
Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Durrani said these were rocket attacks, launched by unknown people from an undisclosed location in Kech district. He ruled out the possibility of the attack being carried out by Iranian border guards.
Local people, however, claimed that the rockets seemed to have been fired from the neighbouring country rather than Kech district. “The blasts were heard from more than 25 kilometres away and they made a huge crater. We do not think these were rocket attacks,” a local man who informed via phone. No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks until the filing of this report.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2013.
A three-year-old girl was killed and her parents and two siblings sustained serious injuries on Monday when rockets hit a residential area in Kech district in Balochistan.
Three rockets – fired from an undisclosed location – hit three houses at around 5:00am.
“There were three huge explosions heard as far as 25 kilometres away in Tump, on the outskirts of Turbat,” a local officer of Balochistan Levies told The Express Tribune.
“The houses were destroyed. These residences allegedly belonged to Mullah Umar, a member of Jundallah – a banned militant group, and his relatives,” he said.
Mullah Umar is a wanted man in Iran for his alleged involvement in targeting Iranian security forces. The first two rockets, left huge craters before two houses, but did not result in casualties. However, the third rocket landed on the house of Abdul Qayyum, close relative of Mullah Umar, killing Qayyum’s daughter, and injuring him and his family.
“The dead and injured were taken to hospital where injured are said to be in critical condition,” an officer of Levies said.
Personnel of Balochistan Levies and law enforcement agencies reached the spot and started an investigation by collecting evidences from the crime scene.
Balochistan Home Secretary Akbar Durrani said these were rocket attacks, launched by unknown people from an undisclosed location in Kech district. He ruled out the possibility of the attack being carried out by Iranian border guards.
Local people, however, claimed that the rockets seemed to have been fired from the neighbouring country rather than Kech district. “The blasts were heard from more than 25 kilometres away and they made a huge crater. We do not think these were rocket attacks,” a local man who informed via phone. No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks until the filing of this report.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2013.