4 policemen, including SHO, killed in Sectarian ambush

The Baloch Hal News

QUETTA: Four police personnel, including a SHO, were ambushed and killed in Satellite Town here on Friday morning. A banned outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangavi claimed the responsibility of killing police officials.

Official sources said police mobile carrying officials was on routine patrol in the jurisdiction of Satellite Town police station around 7:00 am to beef up the security in the area when three armed men hiding in Lango Street, ambushed the vehicle and opened fire on them.

As a result of firing, a constable died on the spot and three officials, including SHO Satellite Town police station Abdul Khaliq, received multiple bullet wounds. The injured succumbed to their injuries on their way to government Sandman Hospital Quetta where doctors pronounced them dead on their arrival.

The deceased were identified as SHO Abdul Khaliq, Constable Raz Mohammad, Mohammad Akbar and driver Nazir Ahmed.

“It was a case of ambush, culprits were hiding in a narrow Langov Street, and ambushed the police party from a vintage point,” Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ghulam Shabir Shiekh told this correspondent.

The perpetrators managed to flee from the scene. Police cordoned off the area and mounted a manhunt.

The funeral prayer of all the deceased personnel was offered in Police Line here where high ranking police officials and government figures also participated.

Police have detained dozens of suspects during the raids and carried out a search in different areas of the city, an official said.

The banned outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangavi claimed the responsibility via satellite phone from unspecified location. For the first time, the banned outfit had ambushed the police party killing all of them on the spot. Earlier, it was confined to mere sectarian killings in Quetta, police investigators pointed out.

According to official sources, around 21 police personnel were killed and 37 have been injured in the incidents of firing during the current year. The police so far arrested 6 suspects linked with banned outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi during the past five months, a senior police official said.

Meanwhile, unknown persons ridding a motorbike opened fire on a man on a two wheeler along with his wife on Sabzal Road killing the victim instantly.

The victim was identified as Mohammad Asif who received bullets on upper torso and died on the spot and his wife identified as Shakila Bibi suffered bullet wounds.

Police squad rushed the site soon after the incident and took the body and the injured to Bolan Medical College Teaching Hospital. She stated to be out of danger, hospital sources said. The victim was an employee of Bolan Medical Complex and the motive behind the murder could not be ascertained. However police is making investigation in to the matter.