4 FC men martyred, 20 others wounded

-TTP attack on FC Check post in Quetta

QUETTA: Four people were martyred and 20 injured on Sunday in a suicide attack near a Frontier Corps (FC) checkpost on Mastung Road in Quetta, Deputy Inspector General of Quetta police Azhar Akram confirmed.
He said that 18 of the injured were security officials while two were bystanders, adding that the number of casualties could rise.
A suicide bomber on a motorcycle packed with six kilogrammes of explosives rammed one of the vehicles in an FC convoy, Akram said. The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
A first investigation report (FIR) was registered by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on the complaint of SHO City Police Station against those involved in the bomb blast that occurred in Quetta Sunday.
The FIR has been filed under the charges of murder, attempt to murder, terrorism and the explosives act, according to officials. Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack, saying in a tweet: “My condolences go to the families of the martyrs & prayers for the recovery of the injured. Salute our security forces & their sacrifices to keep us safe by thwarting foreign-backed terrorists’ designs.”
Opposition leader and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif said he was “grieved to learn about the martyrdom of 3 FC personnel” in the attack. “I pay my homage to our armed forces for their sacrifices in defending the motherland. My heartfelt condolences go to bereaved families & prayers for early recovery of the injured,” he tweeted. Condemning the attack and offering condolences to the families of those martyred, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said the “brave security forces continue to thwart the designs of terrorists especially the RAW- (Indian intelligence agency) funded TTP.”
Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove too strongly condemned the attack and asked authorities to submit a report in this regard. “Security forces have given countless sacrifices in the war against terrorism,” he said, adding that the war would continue until total peace was achieved. “The whole nation is indebted to the martyrs. We are fighting the terrorists with our full strength and will continue to do so. These violent attacks will not lower the morale of the forces,” he stressed.–Agencies