Baloch ultras kill 3 Pak soldiers, 2 civilians in yet another attack

Five people, including three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were killed and 30 injured after a paramilitary convoy was attacked by suspected Baloch militants on a highway in Noshki district of restive Balochistan of Pakistan on Sunday.

The attack, in which three terrorists died, was claimed by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which hijacked the passenger train Jaffar Express last week.

A police official said evidence from the site of the attack suggested that a suicide attacker rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the FC convoy on the Noshki-Dalbandin National Highway.


Three terrorists were killed after the suicide bomber first rammed his motorcycle into the FC convoy. "After the blast, some other terrorists opened fire on the FC personnel but in the retaliatory firing, two of them were killed. Two civilians and three soldiers also died," the police official said.

Noshki Senior Superintendent of Police Hashim Momand said the blast was of high intensity, and injured at least 30 paramilitary soldiers, who have been moved to a hospital for treatment.

Chief of the local police station Zafarullah Sumalani put the death count of FC soldiers at five but this could not be verified. He also feared that the death toll and number of injured would rise since several of the injured are in critical condition.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, interior minister Mohsin Naqvi and Balochistan chief minister Sarfraz Bugti all condemned the attack and expressed sorrow over the loss of lives. Sharif, in a statement, said: "Such cowardly acts cannot shake our resolve against terrorism." He also directed that the injured be provided with the best possible treatment.