Security men among 14 martyred in Balochistan

Ag Agencies

QUETTA: Fourteen passengers were forced to offload from a bus on the Makran Coastal Highway in Balochistan’s Ormara area and martyred by unidentified gunmen early on Thursday.

Some security personnel were also among those martyred in the attack, which took place near Bozi Top, a spokesperson said. The attackers, who numbered around two dozen, were wearing camouflage uniforms, provincial home secretary Haider Ali told AFP.

They "stopped buses on the Makran Coastal Highway and gunned down 14 people", he said, adding the four vehicles were travelling to Karachi from the coastal town of Ormara. According to Levies sources, armed assailants intercepted about six Karachi, Gwadar-bound passenger buses and opened fire at 14 passengers after checking their National Identity Cards (NICs).

On getting information, the Levies force reached the site and shifted the bodies to a nearby hospital where nine of the victims were identified as Muhammad Yousaf, Muhammad Wasim, Farhanullah, Ali Raza, Zulfiqar, Muhammad Haroon, Ali Asghar, Hamza, Muhammad Rizwan and Zabin.

Provincial home minister Mir Zia Langov said a full-scale investigation had been launched into the attack and to track down the gunmen. The area was later cordoned off and an operation was launched to trace out the killers.

"Such incidents are intolerable and we will not spare the terrorists who carried out this dastardly attack," he said. The bodies were shifted to a nearby health facility in Ormara. The attack came less than a week after 21 people, including eight Hazara, were martyred and 48 others injured in a suicide blast in Quetta's Hazarganji Sabzi Mandi.

President Dr Arif Alvi condemned the terrorist attack and expressed profound grief and sorrow at the loss of precious human lives in the incident. He also prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls and forbearance of the bereaved families. Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the attack in a statement from his office and sought a report on the incident.

Expressing his sympathies with the families of the victims, the premier directed the authorities concerned to make every possible effort to identify and bring the perpetrators of the barbaric act to justice. Balochistan Governor Amanullah Khan Yasinzai along with Chief Minister Mir Jam Kamal Khan condemned the killing of innocent passengers.

Jam Kamal said, "Terrorists are killing innocent people on the agenda of anti-state elements. "It is a conspiracy to create hurdles in the development of Balochistan," the chief minister added.