QUETTA: Four Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were martyred when assailants opened fire on them on Sariab Road on Wednesday morning.

The FC personnel were patrolling a railway track near Dukani Baba on two motorcycles when they were fired upon by the attackers, also riding bikes.

The four FC men had no chance to retaliate as they were shot in the head, said Abdul Razzaq Cheema, a senior police official, adding that they recovered 108 Kalashnikov bullet cases from the site.

Rescue workers were accompanied by a heavy contingent of law enforcement personnel who cordoned off the area minutes after the assault.

“The FC soldiers were patrolling to guard the railway track, when three to four armed men attacked them,” Inspector General Police Moazzam Jah Ansari said during a visit to the crime scene.

“Forces have foiled bids to bomb passenger trains and seized improvised explosive devices planted in the same area,” he added.

The attack took place at 7:45am when activities were rare in the area, said IG Ansari.

The bodies were taken to the Civil Hospital for autopsy. The deceased were identified as Naik Saeed Ahmed, Muhammad Aslam, Shabeer and Amjad Haroon. The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2018