Quetta attack: 61 killed, Islamic State claims responsibility

Quetta : In one of the deadliest strikes in Pakistan this year, 61 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in an overnight terror attack on a police training academy in Quetta city in the country’s restive Balochistan province.

Three militants wearing suicide vests stormed the Police Training College on Saryab Road in the provincial capital at around 11:10 pm on Monday, triggering an operation by Pakistani security forces who rescued hundreds of cadets from the academy. The gunmen targeted the sleeping quarters of recruits. They first killed a police guard at the watchtower and then stormed the dormitory while cadets rested.

The attack sent the terrified men aged between 15 and 25 fleeing for safety. Many of the cadets jumped off the rooftops to try to escape.

Eyewitnesses said the attackers were armed with Kalashnikovs. The attack appeared well coordinated, with experts saying the militants fired at the training centre from five separate points.

Most of the deaths occurred when two of the attackers blew themselves up. The third was shot dead by Frontier Corps troops. Officials said most of the 61 killed were police cadets but some of the casualties were of the Army personnel who responded to the attack.

“We can confirm 61 dead in the attack at the police training college. They include 60 police cadets and one Army soldier,” officials said.

More than 125 people were admitted to hospitals. About 20 of them were critical.

Major General Sher Afgan, the chief of the paramilitary Frontier Corps in Balochistan, which led the counter-operation, said: “The attack was over in around three hours after we arrived”.

He added that communications intercepts showed the militants belonged to the Al-Alimi faction of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant group — which is affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban.

“They were in communication with operatives in Afghanistan,” he said. The group itself has not claimed the attack.

Later, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack. It said three attackers were deployed for the attack but did not give the motive for carrying out the attack.

The Jhangvi has roots in Punjab province and has a history of carrying out sectarian attacks in Balochistan, particularly against the minority Shias.

Source : Zee News