Captain martyred, 2 soldiers injured in IED blast in Balochistan: ISPR

A Pakistan Army captain was martyred and two soldiers were injured after their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by terrorists in Balochistan’s Gichik area, the military’s media affairs wing said on Sunday.

The injured soldiers were shifted to a medical facility in Khuzdar, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid condemned the terrorist attack and expressed sadness on receiving news about the captain’s death.

“Terrorists cannot dim our courage with cowardly attacks. We are fighting the terrorists with full force. We will defeat them,” he said.

PML-N president and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said he was saddened to hear about the captain’s martyrdom.

“The nation salutes the sacrifices of our armed forces to defend the motherland,” he tweeted.

There has been an uptick in violence in restive Balochistan, with several incidents of terrorism reported this year, targeting both civilians as well as security forces.

Earlier this week, two children were killed and four others, including a Chinese national, were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals in Gwadar.

Banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Majeed Brigade, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

On Aug 8, two policemen were martyred and 12 others injured in an explosion near Quetta’s Serena Hotel. Six civilians were also wounded in the blast.

The improvised explosive device (IED) used in the attack was fitted into a motorcycle.

Last month, four people were injured and a Frontier Corps (FC) vehicle was damaged in an IED blast in the province’s Hazar Ganji locality.

On July 1, at least six security personnel were injured, two of them seriously, in a motorcycle bomb explosion that targeted an army convoy on Quetta’s Airport Road.

Inspector General of Balochistan Mohammad Tahir Rai had said that an IED had been planted on the motorcycle, which was detonated by a remote control.

Terrorist killed in North Waziristan

In a separate statement, the ISPR said a terrorist was killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in North Waziristan.

Security forces conducted the IBO in North Waziristan’s Boya area after receiving reports about the presence of terrorists there. During the exchange of fire, a terrorist was killed and weapons and ammunition were later recovered, the statement said.

A search of the area was underway to eliminate any further terrorists, the ISPR added.