QUETTA: At least nine security personnel were martyred and 13 injured in an explosion near a truck of the Balochistan Constabulary in the Bolan district of Balochistan on Monday.
According to Levies officials, the explosion occurred at the Kambri bridge on the Quetta-Sibi highway and targeted a vehicle of security forces.
“This seems to be a suicide attack,” a senior security official said. He said the bomber rammed his explosive-laden motorcycle into the police vehicle.
Senior security officials are on the spot to collect evidence regarding the attack, he added. The site of the attack was cordoned off after the explosion.
The Balochistan Constabulary personnel were returning from duty in Sibi Mela when they were targeted. The truck overturned with the intensity of the explosion.
The bodies and injured personnel were shifted to Sibi where they were provided medical aid. The condition of some of the injured is reportedly critical which may increase the death toll.
Emergency was imposed in the hospitals of Quetta and Sibi.
The attack comes shortly after two Levies personnel were among six people martyred in three separate attacks in different areas of Balochistan, last week.
The Levies force sources said four coal miners were killed as armed men opened fire at a mine in the Khost area of Harnai. Three coal miners were also injured in the attack.
The attackers managed to flee after spraying the mine with bullets. The injured coal miners were rushed to the district headquarters hospital in Harnai for medical treatment.
An emergency was declared in the hospital to provide urgent medical treatment to the injured persons.
President, PM vow to eradicate terrorism
President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have expressed their resolve to free the country from the menace of terrorism.
In their separate statements, both strongly condemned the suicide attack on the personnel of the Balochistan Constabulary in Sibbi that led to their martyrdom.
President Alvi said terrorists would not be successful in carrying out their nefarious agenda.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said terrorism in Balochistan was part of the nefarious designs to create instability in the country. The President and the prime minister paid tribute to the valour of the country’s martyred troops.
They prayed to Allah Almighty to grant elevated ranks to the souls of martyrs in heaven and to grant patience to their families.
