Two Pakistan Air Force security guards and a shopkeeper have been killed in an attack carried out by gunmen in Pakistan’s troubled southwestern Balochistan province, officials say.
The incident took place on Monday when the armed men opened fire on the trio in a local market in Gawadar district, 720 km (447 miles) southwest of the provincial capital Quetta.
“The security personnel came to Pasni bazaar for purchase of edible items when unknown armed men opened indiscriminate fire on them,” said Akbar Hussain Durrani, the home secretary of Balochistan province.
“After the attack, the gunmen escaped on a motorbike,” he said.
The rebel Baluch Liberation Front (BLF) group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Security personnel are our targets, but we did not intend to kill the shopkeeper,” Gwaram Baluch, a BLF spokesman claimed.
In another incident, two cement factory employees were wounded in a grenade attack on a bus in Lasbela district of the southwestern province.
Militants have carried out numerous attacks against security forces as well as civilians and managed to spread their influence in various regions of the country, despite frequent offensives by the Pakistani army.
Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the United States in the so-called “war on terror.”
Thousands more have also been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy in the country.
Source: PressTV