Violence claims 39 lives in SW Pakistan

Different incidents of violence claimed around 39 lives, including security personnel, in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Monday. At least 10 people, including police and Balochistan Levies personnel, were killed in a gun attack in Kalat district of Balochistan. A senior police official, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dostin Dashti confirmed that those killed included a police sub-inspector, four Levies personnel, and five civilians. The attackers fled the area, and police have launched a clearance operation. The police reported that the exchange of fire between police and armed assailants began on Sunday night along Kalat's national highway and continued into the city. Meanwhile, SSP Dost Mohammad Bugti told media that six people were shot dead and their bodies were found across the Bolan district of Balochistan. "According to initial reports, all individuals were killed last night," said the police official. Out of the six bodies, he said, four were recovered from under a damage d bridge while four were found from Kolpur on the national highway. "The deceased were shot dead. Their identification process has not been completed yet," the SSP said. Moreover, at least 23 people were killed by armed militants when they offloaded passengers from trucks and buses in the Rarasham area of the Musakhail district in Balochistan province, said officials. A senior administrative official, Assistant Commissioner Najeeb Kakar in a statement to media said that armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway in the Rarasham area of the Musakhail district and offloaded passengers from several buses. The perpetrators stopped buses, vans, and trucks, one after the other on a highway connecting Punjab province with Balochistan. He said that vehicles travelling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab province were identified and shot. The official confirmed that 23 people were killed and the armed men also set fire to 23 vehicles, including 17 trucks, two passenger vans and fou r pick-up vehicles. The security forces reached the site of the incident and shifted the dead bodies to the nearest government run medical facilities. A banned outfit Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack. Source: Kuwait News Agency