Quetta: Armed men attacked and set fire to a police station in Kachhi district of Pakistan’s Balochistan while unidentified men attacked a check post with hand grenades in the Western Bypass area of Balochistan’s capital Quetta, local media reported Wednesday.
According to officials, around two dozen armed men who possessed heavy weapons targeted the Khattan Police Station in Kachhi district Tuesday evening. The attackers entered the police station, setting fire to official documents and furniture, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported. Before escaping from the police station, the attackers took away two rifles, including an SMG and a G-3, along with a mobile phone and a private motorcycle.
A senior official said, “Owing to the large number of assailants, the former levies personnel, who were in a nearby private house, could not effectively respond.” The official further said that no loss of life or injury was reported in the incident.
Soon after receiving the information about the attack, the local police and security forces reached the site and initiated a joint search operation to find the assailants. The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Sibi Range is also investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, unidentified men using hand grenades targeted a security forces check post in the Western Bypass area of Quetta. Police officials stated, “The motorcyclists fired two grenades at the post, which exploded close by but caused no casualties.”
In response to the attack, security personnel who were deployed at the check post retaliated with fire. However, the attackers managed to flee from the spot after hurling the grenades. Security personnel have started a search operation in the area.
Monday, six police personnel were injured after gunmen opened fire at the North Waziristan District Police Officer’s (DPO) vehicle near Mamash Khel town in Bannu district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to an official.
Bannu Regional Police Officer (RPO) Sajjad Khan stated that the incident took place on Miranshah road, which connects Bannu and North Waziristan, Dawn reported. He further said, “Armed men open fire at the vehicle of North Waziristan’s DPO.” He added that the DPO remained unhurt in the incident. Khan stated that injured police personnel were taken to Bannu District Headquarters Hospital.
Pakistan has witnessed a rise in such attacks over the past year, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke its ceasefire with the government in 2022. In the past few months, there has been an increase in attacks on law enforcement personnel, with cops in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa facing attacks frequently.
November 2, a Station House Officer (SHO) and two other police personnel were injured in a blast caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
