7 cops killed as bomb hits police truck in Pak

Karachi, October 18 

A bomb targeted a police truck in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta today killing at least seven policemen and injuring 22 others, police said.

According to initial reports, security sources claimed a roadside bomb exploded just as the police vehicle carrying 35 police personnel passed the Sariab Mill area on the Quetta- Sibbi Road.

However, the nature of the blast has yet to be ascertained. Civil Hospital Quetta Spokesperson Wasim Baig confirmed seven casualties and said that injured had been brought to the medical facility where emergency has been imposed, the report said.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti while condemning the attack confirmed the deaths in the attack. While 22 others were injured and are being treated at the hospital in Quetta.

“The war against terrorism is not over. Balochistan is on the forefront of this fight and we will not stop until there is not a single terrorist left in the area,” the home minister said.

“These cowardly attacks will not hinder our security forces in executing their duties,” he added. — PTI

TTP commander dead  

A top Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan  (TTP) commander, believed to be the mastermind of the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, has been killed, the terror group said. “We confirm the death of Khalifa Umar Mansoor,” Taliban spokesperson Muhammad Khorasani said in a statement sent to journalists via email. Usman Mansoor Hafizullah will replace Umar Mansoor as the group’s commander in Darra Adam Khel and Peshawar.