Two police constables killed in Quetta attack

Deceased identified as Head Constable Munir Ahmed and Constable Naseebullah.

QUETTA: Two police constables were shot dead in an alleged targeted attack in the troubled Saryab suburb of Quetta on Friday morning.

Two masked gunmen on a motorbike opened fired at the constables, identified as Head Constable Munir Ahmed and Constable Naseebullah, killing one on the spot and injuring the other.

“The police personnel were on a motorbike on their way to Saryab Mills when ambushed. One of the policemen died on the spot while the second succumbed to injuries on his way to the Sandeman hospital,” SP Saryab Imran Qureshi told The Express Tribune.

Police personnel rushed to the spot after the attack and cordoned off the area.

Police arrested nine suspects during a search operation but the attackers managed to flee the scene of crime. No group has claimed responsibility for the killings as yet.

“Police have carried out a search operation in Shahnawaz and Baloch colony in Saryab area and rounded up nine suspects. The operation lasted for six hours,” a spokesperson for the Balochistan police said, adding that the arrested were being interrogated.

The slain police personnel were Pashtun and Baloch, leading the police officers to rule out sectarian killing or personal enmity as reasons for the killings.

“They were targeted because they were in uniform. A militant outfit could be responsible for the killings. Two police officers were earlier killed in the same area,” Qureshi responded to a question regarding the motif behind the killings.