QUETTA: At least nine policemen, including two station house officers (SHOs), were martyred in a terrorist attack on a police post in Balochistan’s Ziarat district on Tuesday, officials said.

Ziarat Deputy Commissioner (DC) Abdul Qudoos Achakzai confirmed that it was a terrorist incident, adding that it occurred in the Mangi Dam area.

He added that nine policemen, including two senior officers, had been martyred. The DC said the whereabouts of five policemen were still unknown, adding that additional personnel had been dispatched to the area.

He said an operation to recover the missing police officials was under way.

In a separate statement, the Balochistan chief minister’s aide for media and political affairs, Shahid Rind, also confirmed the number of casualties, adding that Fitna al Khawarij were behind the terrorist attack.

Fitna al Khawarij is the term used by the state to designate members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Rind said that the martyrs included the SHOs of the Mangi and Kawas police stations, and Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) In-charge Head Constable Saifullah.

He said the bodies were being taken to the District Headquarters Hospital for legal proceedings. He added that the joint clearance operation against the terrorists had been completed.

“The Balochistan government salutes the sacrifices of the martyrs. Operations against terrorists will continue until the menace is eliminated,” he said.

Last month, unidentified armed men had attacked police installations in Qila Abdullah, Pishin and Duki districts, martyring a policeman and injuring two others.

In April, a police head constable was martyred in a terrorist attack on a checkpost in the Huramzai area of Pishin district.

Data from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) showed that despite several high-profile attacks, Pakistan witnessed a decline in overall anti-state violence and related security incidents during the month of June.

Providing a province-wise breakdown for June, PICSS observed that Balochistan witnessed a “significant decline” in terrorism.

The province recorded 49 attacks in June compared with 71 in May, marking a 31pc reduction.

Additional input from Abdullah Zehri