Daily Times

Three terrorists were killed after an attack on the Police Lines area in Balochistan’s Loralai district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday.

“Three suicide bombers attempted to target police in Loralai. The suicide bombers were effectively checked by the police at the entry gate. One suicide bomber was killed by the police at entry point while two others managed to get inside Police Line and were killed,” the ISPR said in a statement, adding that during the exchange of fire, one suicide bomber blew himself up while the other was killed by the security forces. “FC and Quick Response Force immediately reached the site and cordoned the area. Police Constable Allah Nawaz was martyred while two other constables were wounded. The police line compound has been cleared by the security forces,” the ISPR concluded.

The people injured in the attack were identified as Bibi Fatima, Sajjad Ahmed, Muhammad Idris and Muhammad Alam.

Earlier in the day, three armed attackers entered the Police Lines area where an examination was being held. According to Loralai District Police Officer (DPO) Jawwad Tariq, when the on-duty policemen tried to stop the men from entering the area, they starting firing. When the police retaliated, the men blew themselves up. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani condemned the attack and expressed condolences over the death of the policeman. “The police force fought bravely against the terrorists. The swift and effective action taken by the police today shows that our security agencies are well prepared,” the chief minister said.

Loralai has witnessed a rise in terror attacks in the past few months. On January 30, terrorists had attacked a police recruitment centre in the area, martyring nine policemen and injuring 21 people. The gun-and-bomb attack was launched when several hundred candidates were taking a written recruitment test.

Earlier on January 1, terrorists had attacked the training centre of the Frontier Corps in the cantonment area of Loralai. Security forces had killed four attackers while four security personnel were martyred while resisting the armed men at the entrance of the training centre.

Separately, security forces foiled an attempt to blow up Jaffar Express passenger train by defusing a bomb planted at the main railway line on Wednesday.

According to details, unidentified miscreants had planted explosives with the railway track in Machh area of Bolan in district Kacchi. The security forces were informed about the suspected material after which FC personnel reached the scene, cordoned off the area and called out the bomb disposal squad. Officials of the bomb disposal squad defused the bomb, foiling the attempt to target Jaffar Express.

Trains bound for various cities were stopped at different railway stations by the Railway authorities. Later, the security forces cleared the track and the railway traffic was restored.