QUETTA, Aug 1: Five army personnel and their civilian driver were killed and two others were injured when armed men fired on their vehicle in Khuzdar, 310km from here, on Sunday.

Sources said a private van was taking the army personnel, who were in civilian clothes, from the Khuzdar cantonment area to the main market in the morning. When the vehicle reached Goshak Nadi, the assailants hurled a grenade and opened fire with Kalashnikov rifles, killing the five armymen and the driver. Two jawans sustained bullet injuries in the attack.

Those killed were identified as Iftikhar Shah, Amir Khan, Mohammad Mustafa, Mohammad Tariq, Mohammad Arshad and Mohammad Irfan, the driver. The two injured, Mansoor Ahmed and Ali Hasnain, have been admitted to the CMH Khuzdar.

Talking to Dawn, District Coordination Officer of Khuzdar Dr Umar Babar said the incident occurred at about 9am. He said 40 checkpoints had been set up in the district to arrest the killers.

The DCO said that police and levies had been making efforts to arrest the assailants, adding that the Frontier Corps had been put on alert. No arrest had been made in connection with the attack till the filing of this report.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jam Yousuf has condemned the killings in Khuzdar and expressed deep concern over the loss of lives. The chief minister said that the terrorists involved in the attack would soon be arrested.

Jam Yousuf claimed that forces against the development projects in the province were behind this attack. He said these forces had hatched a conspiracy to mislead the people in order to safeguard their personal interest, but with the support of masses such elements would be exposed and their conspiracy against the province and country would be foiled.

The chief minister also offered condolences to the bereaved families. In a statement, Khuzdar Nazim Sardar Mohammad Aslam Bizenjo and Naib Nazim Mir Abdur Rehman Zehri condemned the attack and alleged that the killing was part of a conspiracy to disturb peaceful atmosphere in the district.

They vowed that terrorists would not be allowed to succeed in their conspiracy. They claimed that police and levies had been directed to apprehend the killers, saying that the accused would not escape from the law.