QUETTA:
At least 14 people, including five police personnel, were killed in a coordinated suicide and armed assault on the residence of PPP leader and prominent tribal figure Mir Shafiqur Rehman Mengal in Khuzdar on Wednesday, it was reported on Thursday.
According to police and security officials, five attackers were also killed during a prolonged gun battle, while Mengal survived the attack unharmed.
Authorities said the assault was “highly organised”. A suicide bomber first detonated explosives at the main entrance of Mengal’s residence, destroying the front gate and creating an opening for additional attackers. Moments later, several armed terrorists entered the compound and opened indiscriminate fire.
Security personnel stationed at the residence engaged the attackers in an intense exchange of fire that continued for nearly three hours. Officials said all five assailants were killed in the security operation.
Following the attack, security forces, police, and other law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. The bodies of those killed and the injured were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and the Khuzdar Teaching Hospital.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti strongly condemned the attack, saying that enemies of peace were attempting to undermine stability and public unity in the province. He said the government, the people, and security institutions remained committed to defeating terrorism.
The chief minister praised Mengal for his “courage and steadfastness” in the face of the assault, calling his response an example of the nation’s resolve not to yield to terrorism.
Bugti directed law enforcement agencies to identify, arrest, and prosecute the attackers and their facilitators, and ensure they are brought to justice.
Previous attack
Mengal has previously been targeted in terrorist attacks. On December 30, 2011, a powerful suicide car bombing occurred outside his residence on Arbab Karam Khan Road in Quetta, killing 13 people and injuring around 30 others. Mengal and his family survived that attack unharmed. At the time, the banned BLA claimed responsibility for the bombing.