QUETTA, Aug 25: Four jail wardens and two children were killed and 13 other people were injured in rocket attack in Mach town on Monday.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened more strikes.

According to official sources at least 30 rockets were fired at brief intervals on the coalmine town of Mach, some 70km east of Quetta.

“A rocket hit a checkpost outside the central jail killing four jail wardens on the spot and injuring another,” Mach Jail Superintendent Raza Mohammad Changezi told Dawn on phone, adding that four other rockets exploded inside the jail premises. The injured warden was taken to the civil hospital in Quetta in a serious condition.

The sources said that the rockets damaged a wall of the prison. Three rockets exploded near the residence of the jail superintendent but caused no damage or casualty. Police sources said that a rocket fired from nearby mountains exploded in Samalani Colony killing the two children and a man and injuring six others, four of them children.

At least four rockets exploded near FC Qila and Mach police station. The injured children were brought to the Quetta civil hospital. “Rocket attacks started at around 8pm and continued for two hours at brief intervals,” Mohammad Aslam, a resident of Mach, told Dawn, adding that after the attack security forces deployed in the area took positions and returned fire. Heavy exchanges of fire continued till 10.30pm.