Balochistan attacks: Municipal officer, five children gunned down

Blast targeting ATC judge in Quetta kills 11-year-old boy, injures 32

QUETTA:

Tehsil Municipal Officer (TMO) of Dera Murad Jamali along with five of his children, was gunned down by unidentified men in Haji Sher in Dadhar area of Kachhi district of Balochistan on Tuesday.

Five others, including three women, were injured in intense firing.

According to the official of Balochistan Levies Kamran Khan Raisani, TMO Mehraj Umerani and his family were on their way to Quetta from Dera Murad Jamali when assailants travelling in another car opened fire on them on the National Highway in Haji Sher, Dadhar.



“There were 11 people in the car when it came under attack. TMO and five of his children died while five others, including three women were seriously wounded,” DC Kachhi Ahmed Ali Siddiqi told The Express Tribune.

All the six victims sustained serious bullet wounds and died on the spot.

While the attackers managed to flee from the scene, police suspect the killing could be a result of personal/tribal enmity.

“The deceased and the injured were taken to the Civil Hospital, Sibi,” added Siddiqi. “It is the case of a personal and tribal enmity. Balochistan Levies personnel have mounted a manhunt in the area.”

Minor dies in Quetta blast

A bomb targeting an anti-terrorism judge (ATC) killed an 11-year-old boy and injured 32 others on the busy Double Road of Quetta on Tuesday.

ATC judge Nazeer Langove was unhurt in the attack. However, his two security guards were among the injured. Four police personnel were also wounded in the attack. “The apparent target was ATC-I Quetta judge. A teenage boy was killed and over 31 wounded,” Capital City Police Officer Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema told The Express Tribune. The deceased was a vendor and identified as Itizaz.

According to Bomb Disposal Squad, around 50 kg of explosive material was used in the blast. “The IED was strapped onto a car parked beside the road. The car gutted in the explosion,” an official of BDS said.

Police have said that the explosives-laden car was parked near the spare parts shops on Double Road. It was detonated through a remote control when the convoy of ATC judge passed by the area at 9:00am this morning.

The explosion shook the area, damaging more than 10 vehicles parked on the road. The vehicle of ATC judge was also partially damaged. DSP Shalkot PS Shafqat Janjua was also passing by the area and sustained minor injuries.

The blast was heard as far apart as three kilometres from the site of the blast.

“As I dropped my kids to school, I heard a huge explosion and rushed to the site. The injured were lying in a pool of blood. Many were critically wounded,” said a rescue worker who transported two injured police personnel to the hospital. Windowpanes of several buildings and shops shattered due to the impact of the blast.

The deceased and the injured were shifted to the Provincial Sandeman Hospital where a state of emergency had already been declared.

“The body of a 11-year-old boy and 32 injured were brought here,” medics at Provincial Sandeman Hospital told The Express Tribune. Investigators suspect the car was either stolen or a non-customs paid one.

Over the past few months, Quetta has been witnessing a surge in violence. Three major terror attacks took place on one day alone on October 23rd.

JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman survived a suicide attack, nine people of Hazara community were killed in a targeted attack while three people were killed in a roadside explosion.

The outlawed, United Baloch Army, has claimed responsibility for Quetta bombing. It’s spokesperson called media outlets in Quetta from an undisclosed location and said their target was police and security forces.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2014.