WEB DESK /
At least 60 police recruits were killed and more than 100 injured in a suicide attack on a police training academy in Quetta last night. Security forces gunned down all three militants involved in the attack.
While two of the militants had blown themselves up, one was killed in an exchange of fire with security forces. The three terrorists, believed to be from the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Alami, had stormed the centre’s hostel on Saryab Road at around 11:10 PM last night, triggering an operation by Pakistani security forces who managed to rescue all the cadets from the academy.
There were around 700 police cadets and recruits in the college hostel when the attack took place.
The attack came just hours after gunmen shot and killed two customs officers and wounded a third near the town of Surab, about 145km south of Quetta.
According to Dawn news, most of the deaths were caused when two of the attackers blew themselves up. The third was shot dead by Frontier Corps (FC) troops.
“I saw three men carrying Kalashnikovs… they were in camouflage and their faces were hidden,” one cadet told reporters. “They started firing and entered the dormitory but I managed to escape by climbing over a wall.”
Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti confirmed to reporters that there had been three attackers. “They first targeted the watch tower sentry, and after exchanging fire, killed him and were able to enter the academy grounds,” he said.
US condemns terrorist attack on police center in Pakistan
WASHINGTON:
The United States on Monday condemned the terrorist attack on a police training center in Quetta which claimed at least 59 lives and left more than 100 wounded, and said Washington will stand with the government at this difficult hour.
“The United States condemns the terrorist attack on the police training center in Quetta. We extend our condolences to the victims and their families, including the police cadets who are embarking on careers of public service,” spokesman of the US State Department, John Kirby, said in a statement.
“We stand with the people of Pakistan and Government of Pakistan at this difficult hour, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism,” he added.