Security forces killed at least three terrorists on Sunday in retaliatory action after one of the attackers blew himself up at the main gate of the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in Balochistan’s Nokkundi, according to a statement issued by the spokesperson for FC Balochistan South.
The FC spokesperson’s statement said terrorists from Fitna-al-Khawarij “attempted the attack”.
Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term that the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
The statement by the FC spokesperson said one of the “suicide attackers” blew himself up at the headquarters’ main gate, following which quick response force personnel retaliated and killed three terrorists.
It added that security forces were carrying out a clearance operation and the “last of the terrorists will also be” dealt with soon.
Reports said at least six armed attackers had entered the headquarters after one of the terrorists blew himself up at the entrance.
According to last reports received after midnight, the clearance operation was under way at the site until then. Meanwhile, there was no confirmation of any more casualties.
While the operation in Nokkundi was under way, a checkpost in the Gurmakan area of Panjgur district also reportedly came under attack.
Pakistan has witnessed an increase in terror activities, particularly in KP and Balochistan, after the TTP ended a ceasefire with the government in November 2022. With the end of the ceasefire, it had vowed to attack security forces, police, and personnel of law enforcement agencies.
On Saturday, seven blasts rocked Quetta and Dera Murad Jamali in Balochistan, with one explosion blowing up a section of railway track near the provincial capital and suspending train traffic to other parts of the country.
The first blast occurred near a police checkpost on Quetta’s Qambrani Road, where unidentified attackers hurled a grenade.
Police said the second blast took place shortly afterwards on the same road, when armed men detonated a motorcycle carrying an improvised explosive device (IED) as a Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) vehicle passed by, carrying bomb disposal squad personnel to the site of the first explosion.
“Miscreants planted an IED on the motorbike and detonated it with a remote control when the CTD vehicle was passing through the area,” Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Capt (retd) Asif Khan told Dawn, adding that the CTD vehicle escaped the blast and no casualties were reported in either attack.
SSP Khan said two more explosions were reported in the evening. “One blast took place on the railway track near Lohr Karez, on the outskirts of Quetta, which blew up the main line connecting Quetta with other parts of the country.”
In another incident, unidentified motorcyclists hurled a grenade at the city’s Manzoor Shaheed Police Station, but the device failed to explode. A bomb disposal squad later defused it.
Later, unidentified attackers hurled another grenade in the Kechi Beg area at a police patrol. The grenade exploded, but no casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, armed men also targeted a police vehicle at DC Chowk in Dera Murad Jamali by throwing a grenade.
The device did not explode and was defused by the bomb disposal squad.
In yet another incident late on Saturday night, unidentified armed men attacked the camp of a construction company in Quetta’s Sariab area.
