At least 11 people, including six militants and five civilians, were killed in two separate attacks in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, a senior police official said on Sunday.
The attacks, which began at around 12am, targeted the residences of “pro-government” tribesmen in Khudabadan and Ramkan neighborhoods of Balochistan’s Panjgur city and lasted for three hours, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Javed Ahmed told Arab News.
“Five residents of Panjgur city were killed in the midnight ambushes,” he said. “Six terrorists were also killed as [security forces pursued the terrorists].”
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but ethnic Baloch separatist groups have in the past targeted tribal leaders and residents they considered “state-backed.”
“The bodies of the civilians were shifted to the hospital and later handed over to the heirs for burial,” DSP Ahmed told Arab News
This was the second attack targeting civilians in the same city in a little more than a month.
Separately, security forces defused eight improvised explosive devices (IEDs) discovered beneath a bridge on the Quetta-Karachi national highway in Balochistan’s Surab district on Sunday, officials said, averting a potential large-scale attack.
The explosives, concealed inside drums and weighing more than 300 kilograms in total, were recovered during an intelligence-based operation, according to security sources.
“The explosives were hidden under the bridge in a highly concealed manner, indicating a significant destructive capacity,” a senior security official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity.
The devices were reportedly rigged with remote-control and other advanced detonation systems, posing a serious threat to passing traffic and civilians on the key highway linking Quetta to Karachi.
Bomb disposal teams moved the explosives to a secure location and successfully neutralised them, officials said. No casualties or injuries were reported during the operation. Authorities have increased security along the highway, while investigations are underway to identify those responsible and dismantle the network behind the attempted attack.