Three soldiers, cop killed in Quetta attack

QUETTA: Three paramilitary soldiers and a policeman were killed when gunmen opened fire in Quetta on Saturday, officials said.

“Three paramilitary (Frontier Corps) soldiers and one policeman have been killed while a passer-by was injured in an attack on the paramilitary troops,” local police official Syed Zahid Hussain told AFP.

The shooting was claimed by the Al-Alami faction of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) group, according to a statement released by a spokesman.

Last month, the outfit said it worked with the Islamic State group to execute a massive night raid on a police college that killed 61 people, the deadliest assault on a security installation in Pakistan’s history.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed his profound grief and sorrow over the martyrdom of FC and police personnel. The law enforcement agencies personnel laid down their lives in the line of noble duty and a great national cause, he said.

The prime minister paid rich tributes to the martyrs and said their matchless sacrifices would always be remembered with great respect.

Reiterating his government’s strongest resolve to take the war on terror to its logical conclusion, Nawaz added that such cowardly acts of terrorism could not deter the resolve of the nation.