QUETTA — A day after three security officials including a senior official Military Intelligence (Quetta) was killed in a shootout with dangerous terrorists, the five other terrorists tried to attack an office of Frontier Corps’ (FC) Madadgar Centre near Chaman Housing Scheme in the Quetta.
Upon receiving intelligence inputs on May 16th evening the security forces had started a search operation in Quetta’s Killi Almas area but terrorists fired at the security forces and exploded two suicide bombers exploded when officials tried to arrest them.
The leader of a notorious terrorist gang, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Salman Badini aka ‘Salman Baloshi’ was among two other terrorists killed in security forces operation. One terrorist was arrested in a wounded condition.
On May 18th evening apparently retaliating the death of their top commanders, five suicide bombers tried to enter the FC’s Madadgar (Help) center by exploding suicide bombers to pave the way for the entry for other three terrorists but security forces killed all three attackers.
“Four FC personnel who sustained injuries were admitted to CMH Quetta,” a statement issued by security forces spokesman said.
Local security officials say that enough evidence has been recovered from the scene of the attacks which indicated terrorists’ links with Afghanistan. The dead five terrorists are also suspected to belong to Afghanistan.
The funeral prayer of Colonel Sohail Abid of Military Intelligence, who embraced martyrdom on Wednesday during an operation near Killi Almas, Balochistan, was held in Rawalpindi on Thursday attended by COAS Gen. Qamar Bajwa and other high ranking military officials.
At least six terrorists were killed in two separate attacks on security forces on Thursday in Quetta and Nowshera after a “high-value target” of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) was killed on Wednesday night in Balochistan’s Kili Almas in an operation by security forces that also resulted in the martyrdom of Military Intelligence’s Col Sohail Abid and Head Constable Sanaullah and two other security officials.
The key terrorist killed on Thursday was involved in the killings of over 100 members of the Hazara community as well as police personnel, the military’s media wing reported.
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan-based Jamatul Ahrar (JuA) has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, as well as, releasing images of the Nowshera suicide bomber. The bomber has been identified as Roohul Ameen alias Qari Usman who was said to be in his early teens, reported a local news publication.
The JuA claimed that the attack is part of operation Ibn Qasim and more attacks will be carried out such as this in the future. Following the attack, security measures have been tightened throughout the province.
On April 24, three suicide bombers attacked police and paramilitary soldiers in the southwestern city of Quetta, killing six policemen and wounding 15 members of the security forces.
One bomber detonated his explosives near a police truck, provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari said. Seven police officers were wounded in that attack. “It is a suicide attack, and we have a confirmation that six of our police officials are dead,” Ansari said.
Resource-rich Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has also been plagued by terrorism that has led to thousands of casualties since 2004.