Four FC men martyred in TTP blast in Quetta

Ag Agencies

QUETTA: Four Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were martyred on Sunday when a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up in Quetta, an attack Prime Minister Imran Khan swiftly condemned and said was carried out by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group.

The bomber targeted FC guards in the Mian Ghundi neighbourhood of the city in the early morning attack. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) confirmed the attacker targeted the Sona Khan FC checkpost.

Three were martyred immediately in the blast, with another officer embracing martyrdom later of his wounds, said Azhar Akram, Deputy Inspector General of Police.

Akram told AFP that 17 guards and two civilians were wounded in the blast. Three are in a critical condition, he said. In his tweet, Prime Minister Imran Khan held the TTP responsible as he condemned the attack. “Condemn the TTP suicide attack on FC checkpost, Mastung road, Quetta. My condolences go to the families of the martyrs and prayers for the recovery of the injured. Salute our security forces and their sacrifices to keep us safe by thwarting foreign-backed terrorists’ designs.”

Balochistan’s Governor Syed Zahoor Agha, Chief Minister Mir Jam Kamal Khan, Speaker and ministers also condemned the suicide attack.

In separate statements, they said such cowardly attacks could not weaken the morale of the security forces and the nation and the provincial government was committed to eliminate terrorist activities with the security forces and the public.

The Governor and Chief Minister said enemies wanted to destabilise the peace of the province with the aim to halt development processes of the areas which would be foiled at any cost for the interest of the country and the province.

They said security forces were taking measures to curb the nefarious designs of terrorists from the province in order to maintain durable peace. The Governor and Chief Minister directed officials to take action against those involved in the incident.