Militants stormed a police academy in southwestern Pakistan late Monday, killing at least 61 and injuring more than 100, government officials said.
Three militants entered the police training centre on the outskirts of the city of Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province, at about 11 p.m. local time, officials said. Provincial home minister Sarfaraz Bugti said the attackers first killed a sentry who was guarding the perimeter, then entered the dormitories of the academy, where hundreds of cadets were present.
The attack sparked a major security operation, involving police commandos and paramilitary forces, that continued for almost four hours, government and security officials said. Footage from the scene aired on Pakistani TV channels showed soldiers jumping out of military trucks and entering the academy. Ambulances were seen lined up at the main entrance to the complex.
“The terrorists probably planned for and expected many casualties, with over 700 [police] recruits present inside, but there was a timely operation by our security forces,” Mr. Bugti, the provincial home minister, said. “We’ll continue to bravely fight the war on terror.”
Dr. Fareed Sumalani, medical superintendent at the Civil Hospital in Quetta, said 117 people were injured. Most of the injured are police cadets, Noor-ul-Haq Baloch, a health official in Quetta, said.
Government officials said casualties may rise.
“We initially didn’t know how many terrorists were inside, but when we intercepted their communications, we found out that there are three and they’re all suicide attackers,” said Maj. Gen. Sher Afgun, head of the Frontier Corps paramilitary force in Baluchistan province.
Maj. Gen. Afgun said two militants detonated their explosive vests when security forces tried to enter the dormitories and the third was shot dead.
Islamic State and a faction of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. A senior Pakistani military official said intercepted communications between the attackers and their handlers indicated they belonged to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al Alami, a deadly sectarian group. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al Alami said that it had carried out the attack in collaboration with Islamic State.
Maj. Gen. Afgun earlier said the attackers belonged to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
“People in Afghanistan were giving them instructions and talking to them,” Maj. Gen. Afgun told reporters, declining to provide further information.
Some Pakistani militant groups have taken refuge in Afghanistan, a source of tension between the two countries.
One cadet, who appeared shaken, said the militants started shooting as soon as they entered the academy. “We ran for cover, screaming. We were just trying to escape and save ourselves,” the cadet said during a conversation with reporters broadcast live on Pakistani TV channels. He didn’t identify himself.
The storming of the police academy Monday is the second major attack in Quetta in recent months. A deadly hospital bombing in August, claimed by both a faction of the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State, left 72 dead.
Several militant groups have claimed attacks in the Baluchistan province in recent years. Islamist militants, including the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, are known to operate in the region. In addition, there is a continuing low-intensity conflict between Pakistani forces and ethnic Baloch separatist groups.
