2016 Quetta police training college attack
| Quetta police training college attack | |
|---|---|
| Location | Balochistan Police College, Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan |
| Date | 24 October 2016 |
| Target | Police training centre |
Attack type | Mass shooting, suicide bombing, hostage-taking |
| Deaths | 62 |
| Injured | 165+ |
| Perpetrators | |
No. of participants | 3 |
On 24 October 2016, three heavily armed terrorists carried out an attack on the Balochistan police training college in Quetta, Pakistan, killing 61 cadets and injuring more than 165 others.[1][2][3] The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack,[4] and Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed to have collaborated with them.[5] According to Pakistani authorities, the assailants came from Afghanistan and were in contact with their handlers there while perpetrating the attack.[6]
Attack
[edit | edit source]Three militants entered the training centre around 11:10 pm on Tuesday 24 October,[2][7] while cadets were sleeping, and opened fire before taking hundreds of police cadets hostage and engaging in a standoff with security forces. At least 61 people were killed and over 165 people were injured as well.[4][8][9]
All the three gunmen were killed during the attack. Two detonated suicide belts and the third was shot by police. Many of the victims were killed when the attackers detonated their belts.[9]
Captain Roohullah Mohmand
[edit | edit source]Captain Roohullah neutralized one suicide bomber and tackled another, who detonated his explosives, killing Captain Roohullah instantly. His courageous action saved numerous lives, as many cadets were able to escape the attack.[10]
His heroic sacrifice earned him the Tamgha-i-Jurat, Pakistan's fourth-highest military honor.[11] Captain Roohullah is remembered as a national hero in Pakistan for his sacrifice.[12]
Perpetrators
[edit | edit source]Maj. Gen. Sher Afgan, the chief of the Frontier Corps in Quetta, said that a faction of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Pakistan-based sectarian Sunni group, was believed to have carried out the attack. Shortly afterwards, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL) claimed responsibility via its Amaq media wing. It also released the photos of the claimed attackers.[13][14][15] [16]
A senior security official said that the ISIL had "outsourced" the attack to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.[14] A spokesman of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi faction Al-Alami subsequently told Reuters that the two groups (Al-Alami and ISIL) had "done this attack together".[5] Analysts said that the ISIL clearly has a presence in Pakistan and has local groups working with it.[15]
Pakistan's national security advisor Naseer Khan Janjua stated to U.S. ambassador David Hale that India's Research and Analysis Wing and Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) were "patronising" terrorist organisations on attacking soft targets in Pakistan, and emphasised the need for effective action against militant elements in Afghanistan linked to the attack.[17][18]
Aftermath
[edit | edit source]Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif cancelled all of his engagements and called a meeting with arms officials in Quetta.[19][20] Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri revealed on 10 November 2016 the arrest of mastermind and facilitator of the attack.[21]
Reactions
[edit | edit source]International
[edit | edit source]The Chinese Foreign Ministry,[22] French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault,[23][24] Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affair,[25][26] German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier,[citation needed] Indian Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar,[27][28] Russia President Vladimir Putin,[citation needed] British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson,[citation needed] United States State Department Spokesperson John Kirby all condemned the attack and expressed their solidarity with Pakistan.[29]
The United Nations[30][31] and the European Union condemned the terrorist attack, and pledged to "work closely together with Pakistan to fight the global threat of terrorism and expressed condolences to the families of the victims."[32]
See also
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- List of terrorist incidents linked to Islamic State – Khorasan Province
- List of Islamist terrorist attacks
- List of terrorist incidents in October 2016
- List of terrorist incidents linked to ISIL
- List of terrorist incidents linked to ISIL (IS-K)
- Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2016
- January 2016 Quetta suicide bombing
- August 2016 Quetta bombing
- 2014 Peshawar school massacre
- Quetta attacks
References
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- ^ a b LeJ 'collaborated with ISIS' for Quetta attack, The Nation, 26 October 2016.
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- ^ Quetta attack survivor: 'We were sleeping when terrorists attacked', CNN, 25 October 2016.
- ^ a b Salman Masood, Pakistan Reels After Attack on Police Training College Leaves 61 Dead, The New York Times, 25 October 2016.
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, Quetta Police College Attack: Pakistan Is Increasingly Vulnerable to Terrorism, The Diplomat, 25 October 2016.
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Further reading
[edit | edit source]- Ejaz Haider, Quetta Attack: An Overall Failure, Newsweek Pakistan, 25 October 2016.
- Quetta attack: A primer on Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, who allegedly carried out strike, Firstpost, 26 October 2016.
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- 21st-century mass murders in Pakistan
- Hostage taking in Pakistan
- ISIL terrorist incidents in Pakistan
- 2016 mass murders
- Mass murders in Quetta
- October 2016 crimes in Asia
- October 2016 in Pakistan
- Suicide bombings in Quetta
- Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2016
- Spree shootings in Pakistan
- 2016 in Balochistan, Pakistan
- Balochistan Police
- 2016 murders in Pakistan
- 2010s crimes in Quetta
- 2016 mass shootings in Asia
- Islamic terrorist incidents in 2016
- Lashkar-e-Jhangvi attacks
- University and college killings in Asia
- University and college shootings in Asia
- Attacks on schools in Pakistan
- Suicide bombings in 2016
- Killing of captives by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Attacks on schools in 2016
- Attacks on buildings and structures in Quetta