Raid on tip-off: United Baloch Army men arrested, say police

QUETTA:

Quetta police chief Abdul Razaq Cheema claimed on Saturday that police have arrested five militants belonging to the banned United Baloch Army (UBA) and seized a huge cache of bomb-making material.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Cheema was addressing a press conference at his office, flanked by senior police officials including DIG Investigation Syed Mubeen Ahmed and DIG Operations Muhammad Jaffar and CIA SSP Shaukat Ali.

UBA, in the recent past, had claimed responsibility of bombings at places including City Police Station and Zarghoon Road that had killed several and injured over two dozen people.

Cheema said that subversive acts, including bomb and grenade attacks were taking place in Quetta for a long time under the supervision of UBA chief Abdul Nabi Bangulzai who had used young boys to carry out explosions in the city with homemade bombs.

CCPO Cheema said Bangulzai’s accomplices were planning a big attack when police raided their hideout and arrested four persons in Bakra Mandi area. Cheema said the raid was conducted with the help and coordination of intelligence agencies.

The arrested persons were identified as Asghar Ali, Ejaz Ahmed, Wafa Waheed Ahmed and Zahoor, he disclosed.

UBA chief Abdul Nabi Bangulzai, Naveed Ahmed alias Koha, Muhammad Zafar Zaman Jattak, Naseer Bangulzai, Bashir Bilal, Saad Izat, Abdul Rasool Sana and Allah Bahadur escaped.

He said police recovered two anti-personnel mines, three hand-grenades, an electric detonator fuse, an electronic timer, 780kg of urea fertiliser and a sizeable quantity of powdered chemicals used in explosives. Cheema said that the accused have confessed of carrying out 15 terrorists acts in 2012-13 in which 12 persons were killed and dozens others were injured. Police is investigating further.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2014.