Turkey condemns ‘heinous’ terror attack in Pakistan

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

The Turkish Foreign Ministry late on Jan. 9 condemned the suicide blast in the southwestern Balochistan province in Pakistan that has left seven people dead and 15 others injured.

In a written statement issued, the ministry described the attack as “heinous.”

“We have learned with deep sorrow that an attack carried out today in the vicinity of the Provincial Assembly in Quetta, killed and wounded Pakistani brothers and sisters, including security officers,” said the statement.

“We wish Allah’s mercy on those who lost their lives and a speedy recovery to the wounded while conveying our condolences to the government and brotherly people of Pakistan,” it said.

Police said a suspected suicide bomber detonated himself near a police patrolling vehicle in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan.

The suspected bomber, who acted alone, targeted a patrolling truck on the busy road Zargoon—just 300 meters away from the state assembly building, provincial police chief Moazzam Jah Ansari told reporters.

The dead included five policemen, Ansari said, adding that various injured had received life-threatening wounds.

The attack occurred hours after the resignation of the provincial chief minister following a no-confidence move by the opposition.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a conglomerate of several militant groups operating in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the suicide attack in a statement—the latest in a string of similar incidents in the recent past.