Quetta: Two cops gunned down in 24 hours

Published March 10, 2014
The killings claimed the lives of head constable Manzoor Ahmed and Balochistan Constabulary constable Muhammad Azam.—File Photo
The killings claimed the lives of head constable Manzoor Ahmed and Balochistan Constabulary constable Muhammad Azam.—File Photo

QUETTA: After month of an uneasy calm, two police officials were gunned down during the last 24 hours in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province.

Superintendent of Police Imran Qureshi said armed militants opened fire at the vehicle of head constable Manzoor Ahmed in Quetta's troubled Sariab road area on Monday.

“Manzoor was killed on the spot,” Qureshi said. The assailants sped away on their motorcycle after the attack. Qureshi said Manzoor received six bullets.

The incident came almost a day after gunmen killed a police constable on Fatima Jinnah Road, the heart of Quetta.

Police said Muhammad Azam was working as constable in the Balochistan Constabulary.

The attackers managed to escape unhurt from the spot.

There has been no claim of responsibility yet for the targeted killings of the two policemen.

“Police are investigating the murders,” Qureshi said, adding that efforts were being made to catch the culprits.

Both incidents come after almost a month's calm in Quetta, which has been plagued by targeted killings, bomb explosions and rocket attacks. Scores of police officials have been killed in a wave of violent attacks by Baloch separatists and sectarian outfits in the provincial capital during the past seven years.

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