SUKKUR: A pedestrian was killed and eight other persons, including two policemen, were wounded in a gun and bomb attack on a moving Frontier Constabulary (FC) vehicle by a lone terrorist at the Mauladad level-crossing in Jacobabad on Saturday. The attacker was caught by people and handed over to the police.

Officials at the Saddar police station said the attacker, later identified as Mohammad Usman, missed the target because the FC vehicle was moving in a fast speed. No one riding the vehicle sustained any harm, they said.

They said that the suspect first opened fire on the FC vehicle and then threw a hand grenade on it. He, however, missed the target, they added. A pedestrian, Ghulam Mustafa Jakhrani, son of Atta Mohammad, a resident of Nawaz Jagirani village, was killed on the spot and eight other persons were wounded in the grenade blast.

Lone attacker caught by people, handed over to Jacobabad police

Two of the wounded persons were identified as Fayyaz Hussain Chauhan, a policeman hailing from Thatta who was on local government election duty, and Ayaz Ahmed Talani, a traffic constable. A 12-year-old boy, Ghulam Nabi Domki, son of Mohammad Khan, also sustained wounds in the blast.

The others who were wounded were identified as, Saifullah and his brother Qadir Bakhsh, Sardar Ahmed Chandio and his brother Ghazi Khan Chandio, and Faisal Jatoi.

The suspect, Mohammad Usman, was caught by residents of the nearby Garhi Sabayo village while he was trying to flee the site amid scare and panic caused by the firing and blast, the police said. He is said to be a resident of Balochistan, they added.

“The people severely beat him up before handing him over to the police,” they said.

All the persons wounded in the attack were taken to the Jacobabad Institute of Medical Science (JIMS) for treatment. Constable Ayaz Talani was later referred to a major hospital due to his critical condition.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2022