QUETTA: A tribal elder, his five guards and two relatives were killed in a landmine blast and a rocket attack in Marwar coal mine area, 40km from here, on Thursday night.

Security officials said that tribal elder Mir Gul Khan Bijarani Marri was going to Marwar with his relatives and guards. A landmine blast hit Gul Khan’s vehicle, leaving him and his relatives, Bahawal Khan and Alam Zeb Khan, dead. The vehicle was destroyed.

The armed men then fired rockets on the vehicle carrying the guards, killing them and destroying that vehicle as well. The names of the guards could not be ascertained.

AP adds: No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. The bodies were taken to a hospital morgue.

Rival tribal groups often target each other’s men over lingering feuds.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2015

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