Gunmen ambushed a vehicle escorting buses carrying employees of the country's biggest natural gas producer in the southwest region yesterday, killing four paramilitary soldiers and wounding 10 others, a spokesman said. The attack occurred on a road near Sui, 350 kilometers southeast of Quetta, where the country's main natural gas pipeline and other gas facilities are located, said Col. Rizwan Malik, spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary. He said the troops "came under attack when they were escorting buses carrying employees of Pakistan Petroleum Limited." Four paramilitary solders were killed and 10 others wounded, but no civilians were injured, he said. Malik said they didn't know who was behind the attack. He gave no other details.
| My guess is Bugtis. Every time I hear about rockets and Sui, I think Bugtis... |
Meanwhile, unknown attackers yesterday fired 25 rockets at a paramilitary base in Sui, but missed their target. Some of the rockets struck two homes in the area, injuring four civilians, officials said.
| Yep. Definitely Bugtis... |
It wasn't clear who was behind the two attacks which came a day after a rocket hit an army vehicle in the same tribal region. One paramilitary guard was killed and one wounded on Sunday, when unidentified gunmen fired at a convoy of employees of the same company, which operates the largest natural gas field in the country. Police in the town of Kalat, about 140 kilometers south of Quetta, said their police station was hit by a locally-made bomb early in the morning. It caused only minor damage to the building and no one was hurt. Nobody claimed responsibility for the ambush late Sunday on the outskirts of Sui, and a local police officer Munir Gondal said they were still investigating. He said the soldiers were patrolling in the area to guard the gas facilities when "unknown terrorists fired a rocket from a nearby mountain." Gondal gave no other details and said only that authorities were looking for the attackers. Quetta is the capital of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province. Attacks on soldiers and gas facilities are common in Balochistan, most blamed on tribesmen who allegedly carry out these attacks to pressure the government for higher royalties from gas extracted from their territory. |