Suicide Bombing Kills 10 Pakistani Police Personnel
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QUETTA – A suicide bombing killed at least 10 police officers in southwest Pakistan on Monday (6/3/2023). In addition to the death toll, this incident also resulted in dozens of injuries.
The suicide bomb attack targeted a police truck near Sibi, a town 160 km east of Quetta in Balochistan province.
“The suicide bomber was riding a motorbike and hit the truck from behind,” senior police official Abdul Hai Aamir told the AFP news agency.
Authorities said police officers were returning from a week-long cattle show, where they provided security. Later photos showed the truck overturned on the road with its windows shattered.
“The terrorists who carry out such attacks are the enemies of Pakistan,” said Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo.
The extremist group “Islamic State” (ISIS) claimed responsibility for Monday night’s attack. The Associated Press reports that the newly formed militant group, Tehreek-e-Jihad, has also claimed responsibility for the incident.
Pakistan has seen increased attacks on its police following the breakdown of peace talks between the government and the Pakistani Taliban in November. Last month, five people died after a Taliban suicide squad attacked a police compound in Karachi.
In January, a bomb at a police mosque in Peshawar killed more than 80 officers. “Despite their different ideological, ethnic and political views, (militant groups) are all bound by one goal: to attack security forces and instill fear and uncertainty in Pakistan,” Imtiaz Gul, an analyst with the Center for Security Research and Studies in Islamabad.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan’s largest and least populous province. Ethnic separatist groups including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) have long waged a low-level insurgency against Pakistan’s government.
“Terrorism in Balochistan is part of an evil agenda to destabilize the country,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement on Monday.
(esn)
