QUETTA: Two policemen were martyred and another was injured after gunmen attacked them at a restaurant in the Eastern Bypass area of the provincial capital on Friday.

Police described the incident as a targeted terrorist attack and said the cops were martyred when they were having lunch at the restaurant.

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Police sources said the victims, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), were on routine patrolling in the Eastern Bypass area during which they went to the restaurant located in the Bhosa Mandi area and ordered a meal.

As they were waiting for the food, two armed men entered the dining hall and opened fire on the policemen using automatic weapons, killing two of them on the spot and injuring another.

The deceased have been identified as ASI Rehmatullah Dharpali of Dera Murad Jamali and police constable Ali Asghar. The injured police constable has been identified as Qurban Ali.

“They were targeted when they were about to start their meal,” SP Sariab Asif Mastoi said, adding that the attackers escaped from the scene.

Police and Frontier Corps personnel rushed to the scene soon after the incident and shifted the bodies and the injured to a nearby hospital.

The banned TTP spokesman issued a statement on social media claiming responsibility for the attack.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2022