Coach was en route from Karachi to Quetta when gunmen opened fire, say police
Bureau Report
KALAT: At least three people were killed and seven others sustained injuries after unidentified assailants opened gunfire on a passenger coach travelling from Karachi to Quetta near a checkpost in Balochistan’s Kalat, police said on Wednesday.
The attack occured when the bus approached Nemargh Cross near Kalat district as the unidentified attackers first opened fire and then hurled hand grenades.
The vehicles that run on this route carry approximately 40 to 50 passengers. However, the exact number of passengers on board the targeted bus remains unknown.
Balochistan government spokesperson, Shahid Rind noted that security agencies, district authorities, and rescue teams reached the scene immediately. The wounded were transferred to the Qalat DHQ Hospital, where an emergency has been declared.Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to pursue the assailants, Rind said, adding that the attackers are still at large. “Initial reports suggest that the attackers were waiting to strike. They closed the street from both sides,” he added.
Police officials added that the assailants were waiting on top of nearby mountains to attack the bus.
The attack came days after at least nine passengers travelling on two Punjab-bound coaches were abducted and killed by unidentified armed men in Sur-Dakai area, on the border between Balochistan’s Zhob and Loralai districts.
Assistant Commissioner Zhob, Naveed Alam, said the attackers opened fire on the abducted passengers after taking them away from the vehicles, adding that the bodies were being transported to Rakhni for dispatch to their native towns in Punjab.
Shahid Rind, the Balochistan government’s spokesperson, said that Fitna al Hindustan — a term used for terrorist organisations in Balochistan — had carried out the attacks.
