QUETTA: Two policemen, a woman passerby and a gunman were killed and four people injured in encounters between police and a group of armed men in Sariab and Jan Mohammad road areas here on Monday.

The injured included two police constables, a woman and one of the attackers.

Quetta police chief Abdul Razzak Cheema said at a press conference that the first encounter took place in Jan Mohammad road area when constables Adnan and Imran tried to intercept two men who had allegedly snatched a motorcycle from a man and were trying to escape. The accused opened fire and injured the constables. The accused left the motorcycle and managed to escape.

In another incident, a convoy of SSP Sariab Zahoor Afridi was attacked by two armed men on a motorcycle.

The SSP had signalled the men to stop in Killi Geo area, but they opened fire. The SSP’s guards returned fire and killed one of the men and injured the other who escaped after the exchange of fire. The man killed was identified as Mubashir Ahmed Kurd.

Two women passing through the area were injured in the firing. They were identified as Hafiza Bibi and Hajyani Bibi. Later one of them succumbed to her injuries.

The Quetta police chief said that when the police guards were taking the injured women to the Civil Hospital another group of armed men opened fire on their vehicle near Bashir Chowk. The driver and a constable were killed on the spot. They were identified as Akhtar Mohammad and Inam.

The Quetta police chief said that a search operation had been launched in the area for arresting the men involved in the attack and killing of the police personnel.

Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Malik Baloch condemned the attack and directed the authorities concerned and law-enforcement agencies to immediately arrest the killers. He expressed grief over the loss of lives and said that terrorists could not succeed in their nefarious designs through such attacks and action would continue to be taken against them.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2015

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