Pakistan: Five Killed, One Wounded in Attack on Security Personnel in Balochistan

QUETTA (Terror Monitor) — Five people, including four security personnel, were killed and another security official was wounded when unidentified armed terrorists attacked a vehicle in Dera Bugti district of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials said.

According to government officials, the security personnel were traveling from Sui toward Kashmore in Sindh when their vehicle came under attack.

Two senior government officials based in Quetta and Dera Bugti, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attack took place on Monday near the Pir Inayat Shah shrine. The security personnel were traveling in a private vehicle when unidentified attackers opened fire. The vehicle’s driver was also killed, while one security official was wounded.

The attack came two days after clashes in the Loti area of northern Dera Bugti district. Government officials and local tribal elders said unidentified armed men had attacked a camp belonging to a private gas company and the residence of Wadera Ghulam Nabi Shambani, chairman of the Dera Bugti District Council. Peace Force volunteers and security personnel subsequently launched a counter-operation.

A senior police official in Quetta said eight attackers were killed during the response, while one Peace Force volunteer was killed and three others were wounded. The injured were airlifted to Sukkur for medical treatment.

Wadera Ghulam Nabi Shambani said the attackers directly targeted his residence. He said security personnel pursued the attackers during clashes overnight and the following morning, resulting in eight deaths and seven arrests.

The outlawed Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed responsibility for the Loti attack. A spokesperson for the group confirmed in a statement to the media that six of its fighters had been killed.

Meanwhile, in Mastung district, a hotel located along the Quetta-Karachi highway in Khadkocha was destroyed by an explosive device. Police said there were no casualties in the blast, but the hotel was completely destroyed.