Balochistan unrest: Quetta firing kills 7 people

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Dated: 2012-06-24




QUETTA: In another act of target killing, at least seven people were killed when armed men opened fire at shop on Saryab Road in the suburb of Quetta, officials said on Saturday.

According to police, unknown armed men got off the two-wheeler and entered a shop of a dry cleaner, opened fired on people sitting inside the shop. They fled the scene after killing seven people sitting in the shop, witnesses said.

The bodies were taken to a government-run hospital for medico-legal formalities. Heavy contingent of police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area. The reports said all the deceased belonged to different parts of eastern Balochistan.

Superintendent Police (SP) Sikandar Baig confirmed the incident and said five people were killed and two severely injured. He said the injured were shifted to Civil Hospital for treatment.

However, hospital sources confirmed that seven bodies were brought to the medical facility.

Balochistan has been witnessing a low-level insurgency by nationalists, demanding more provincial autonomy while some others fighting for freedom.

The militants kill Punjabi and Pashtoons settlers in Baloch populated areas of the South Western province.