{"id":4542,"date":"2023-03-06T15:00:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-06T15:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=4542"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:50:24","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:50:24","slug":"10-police-officers-killed-in-suicide-bombing-in-southwestern-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/analysis\/defense\/terrorism\/10-police-officers-killed-in-suicide-bombing-in-southwestern-pakistan\/2023\/03\/06\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"10 police officers killed in suicide bombing in southwestern Pakistan"},"content":{"rendered":"

QUATTA,<\/span> Pakistan<\/span> (AP)<\/span> —<\/span> At<\/span> least<\/span> 10<\/span> police<\/span> officers<\/span> were<\/span> killed<\/span> and<\/span> 12<\/span> injured<\/span> when<\/span> a<\/span> motorcycle-riding<\/span> suicide<\/span> bomber<\/span> crashed<\/span> into<\/span> a<\/span> police<\/span> truck<\/span> in<\/span> Pakistan’s<\/span> troubled<\/span> southwest.<\/span> Officials<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> was<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> deadliest<\/span> attacks<\/span> on<\/span> security<\/span> forces<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> months.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>No<\/span> one<\/span> immediately<\/span> claimed<\/span> responsibility<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> bridge<\/span> bombing<\/span> in<\/span> Sibi<\/span> district<\/span> of<\/span> Balochistan.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Local<\/span> police<\/span> chief<\/span> Mahmoud<\/span>\u00a0said<\/span> officers<\/span> were<\/span> on<\/span> a<\/span> regular<\/span> patrol<\/span> when<\/span> the<\/span> attack<\/span> took<\/span> place,<\/span> initially<\/span> killing<\/span> nine,<\/span> who<\/span> were<\/span> taken<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> nearby<\/span> hospital<\/span> with<\/span> serious<\/span> injuries.<\/span> One<\/span> of<\/span> his<\/span> officers<\/span> later<\/span> died,<\/span> he<\/span> added.<\/span> Sibi<\/span> is<\/span> about<\/span> 150<\/span> kilometers<\/span> east<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> state<\/span> capital,<\/span> Quetta.<\/span> The<\/span> blast<\/span> overturned<\/span> the<\/span> truck<\/span> and<\/span> caused<\/span> further<\/span> injuries.<\/span> Trucks<\/span> often<\/span> transport<\/span> troops<\/span> in<\/span> Pakistan.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Notenzai<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> officers<\/span> who<\/span> were<\/span> attacked<\/span> were<\/span> dispatched<\/span> last<\/span> week<\/span> to<\/span> his<\/span> Sibi,<\/span> where<\/span> the<\/span> annual<\/span> cultural<\/span> festival<\/span> was<\/span> being<\/span> held<\/span> under<\/span> heavy<\/span> security.<\/span> Military<\/span> helicopters<\/span> were<\/span> dispatched<\/span> to<\/span> evacuate<\/span> the<\/span> seriously<\/span> injured<\/span> to<\/span> hospitals<\/span> in<\/span> Quetta<\/span> where<\/span> better<\/span> medical<\/span> facilities<\/span> were<\/span> available.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Last<\/span> year,<\/span> suicide<\/span> bombers<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> militant<\/span> group<\/span> Islamic<\/span> State<\/span> targeted<\/span> the<\/span> security<\/span> forces<\/span> of<\/span> President<\/span> Arif<\/span> Alvi,<\/span> who<\/span> was<\/span> visiting<\/span> the<\/span> Sibi<\/span> festival.<\/span> Arvi<\/span> was<\/span> far<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> bombing<\/span> site<\/span> where<\/span> five<\/span> soldiers<\/span> were<\/span> killed.<\/span> IS<\/span> fighters<\/span> later<\/span> claimed<\/span> responsibility<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> attack.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>This<\/span> festival<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> celebrated<\/span> for<\/span> centuries<\/span> to<\/span> mark<\/span> the<\/span> beginning<\/span> of<\/span> summer.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Shabazz<\/span> Sharif<\/span> condemned<\/span> the<\/span> attack.<\/span> In<\/span> a<\/span> statement,<\/span> he<\/span> expressed<\/span> his<\/span> condolences<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> families<\/span> of<\/span> those<\/span> killed<\/span> and<\/span> ordered<\/span> health<\/span> officials<\/span> to<\/span> provide<\/span> the<\/span> best<\/span> medical<\/span> care<\/span> possible<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> injured<\/span> police<\/span> officers.<\/span> He<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> attack<\/span> was<\/span> part<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> nefarious<\/span> enemy’s<\/span> plan<\/span> to<\/span> destabilize<\/span> Pakistan<\/span> and<\/span> vowed<\/span> to<\/span> defeat<\/span> terrorism.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> highest<\/span> elected<\/span> official<\/span> in<\/span> Balochistan,<\/span> Abdul<\/span> Quds<\/span> Bizenjo,<\/span> also<\/span> condemned<\/span> the<\/span> bombing.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Terrorists<\/span> who<\/span> carry<\/span> out<\/span> such<\/span> attacks<\/span> are<\/span> enemies<\/span> of<\/span> Pakistan,”<\/span> he<\/span> said,<\/span> adding<\/span> that<\/span> they<\/span> would<\/span> not<\/span> shake<\/span> the<\/span> resolve<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> country’s<\/span> police.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Balochistan<\/span> has<\/span> long<\/span> wrestled<\/span> with<\/span> low-level<\/span> insurgency<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> Balochistan<\/span> Liberation<\/span> Army<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> small<\/span> separatist<\/span> groups<\/span> demanding<\/span> independence<\/span> from<\/span> Islamabad’s<\/span> central<\/span> government.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Authorities<\/span> claim<\/span> they<\/span> have<\/span> quelled<\/span> the<\/span> riots,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> violence<\/span> continues.<\/span> The<\/span> province<\/span> has<\/span> also<\/span> seen<\/span> attacks<\/span> by<\/span> Pakistani<\/span> Taliban<\/span> and<\/span> Islamic<\/span> State<\/span> group<\/span> militants.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

QUATTA, Pakistan (AP) — At least 10 police officers were killed and 12 injured when a motorcycle-riding suicide bomber crashed into a police truck in Pakistan’s troubled southwest. Officials said he was one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent months. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bridge bombing in Sibi district […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[252,779,2406],"tags":[1524,56,1510,1511,1512,1513,1514,1515,1516,1517,1518,1519,1520,1521,1522,1523],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/bomb.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4544,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4542\/revisions\/4544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}