Three paramilitary personnel, two civilians killed in terror attack in Balochistan

Confirming the attack, the police chief of the local Noshki police station Zafarullah Sumalani said that the initial investigations suggested that it was a suicide attack.

Karachi: Five people, including three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, were killed and 30 injured after a paramilitary convoy was attacked by suspected Baloch militants on a highway in Noshki district of restive Balochistan of Pakistan on Sunday.

The attack, in which three terrorists died, was claimed by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which hijacked the passenger train Jaffar Express last week.

A police official said evidence from the site of the attack suggested that a suicide attacker rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the FC convoy on the Noshki-Dalbandin National Highway.

Three terrorists were killed after the suicide bomber first rammed his motorcycle into the FC convoy. “After the blast, some other terrorists opened fire on the FC personnel but in the retaliatory firing, two of them were killed. Two civilians and three soldiers also died,” the police official said.

Noshki Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Hashim Momand said the blast was of high intensity, and injured at least 30 paramilitary soldiers, who have been moved to a hospital for treatment.

Chief of the local police station Zafarullah Sumalani put the death count of FC soldiers at five but this could not be verified. He also feared that the death toll and number of injured would rise since several of the injured are in critical condition.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, and Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti all condemned the attack and expressed sorrow over the loss of lives.

Sharif, in a statement, said: “Such cowardly acts cannot shake our resolve against terrorism.”

He also directed that the injured be provided with the best possible treatment.

“Those who play with the peace of Balochistan would be brought to a tragic end,” Bugti said in an official release.

Minister Naqvi strongly condemned the blast and extended condolences to the victims' families and wished a swift recovery for the injured.

Denouncing the attack as an act of brutality, Naqvi emphasised that anti-state elements are attempting to destabilise the country. He asserted that such cowardly acts would not shake the nation's resolve, according to a statement shared by the Ministry of Interior on X.

Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind also condemned the attack “targeting innocents.”

Balochistan has witnessed an uptick in terror attacks over the past year. Bordering Iran and Afghanistan, Balochistan is home to a long-running violent insurgency.

Baloch insurgent groups frequently carry out attacks targeting security personnel, government projects and the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in this oil and mineral-rich province.

In the past, the railway tracks in this area have been attacked by Baloch militants using rockets or remote-controlled bombs, and the BLA claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.

Earlier last week, in the same province, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants ambushed the Jaffar Express, carrying 440 passengers, near the mountainous terrain of Gudalar and Piru Kunri in Bolan district on March 11. The militants killed 21 passengers and four paramilitary soldiers before the Army eliminated all 33 terrorists on March 12.