News / Pakistan

Seven policemen killed, scores wounded in Pakistan attacks

Friday, 27 March 2015 9:28 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 27 March 2015 9:28 AM ]

A Pakistani policeman inspects a bus belonging to security forces after an attack. (file photo)

Two separate attacks on Pakistani police forces have left seven officers killed, as the violence against security forces continues to rage across the country.

Home secretary of southwestern Baluchistan Province Akbar Durrani said Friday that a rocket attack by militants in the region had killed five policemen.

He said the attack happened late Thursday in the Loralai district, which is located 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of the provincial capital Quetta.

Two other police officers were killed and 14 more were wounded in another bomb attack in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi.

A police chief in the city confirmed the Karachi death toll, saying the bomb was planted on a road where a police convoy was traveling.

“Two policemen were killed and 14 other people, including two civilians, were injured when a bomb planted on a motorbike was blown up as a police van was passing by,” Ghulam Qadir Thebo said.

He said the police van was on its way to guard the residence of the former President Asif Ali Zardari. The vehicle belonged to Special Service Unit, an elite force which is tasked with guarding VIPs, Thebo said.

Medical sources have also confirmed the death toll of the attack, which took place in a bus station in Karachi's Quaidabad area.

Home to a population of around 18 million people, Karachi has seen a surge in violence over the past months. The capital of Sindh Province has been a cauldron of ethnic and political tension for decades with hundreds of people killed each year as a result of crimes related to sectarian and political violence.

File photo shows members of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan group.

Later reports suggested that Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a major terrorist group operating in the country, has claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attacks, saying that his government will continue fighting terrorism and extremism despite such “cowardly acts.”

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