Quetta put on high alert after rocket attacks

QUETTA: Authorities in Quetta and nearby areas have stepped up security after multiple rocket attacks struck different parts of the provincial capital late on Wednesday night, injuring three people and damaging houses, officials said.

According to official sources, security was placed on high alert and stricter measures were introduced to maintain law and order and protect lives and property. Security forces also began a search operation shortly after the attacks, which officials said were launched from unidentified locations in the mountainous areas around Quetta.

Sources said more than two dozen suspects had been detained from those surrounding mountainous areas for questioning.

Police said four rockets were fired at the city by unidentified attackers. Deputy Inspector General Quetta Imran Shoukat confirmed the attacks, saying that rockets were fired from unknown locations and landed in different areas of the city.

He said two of the rockets struck rooftops of houses on Akhtar Mohammad Road and Mir Ahmed Road, where solar panels and parts of the structures were damaged.

Officials said the other rockets exploded in the Shanti Nagar and Faqir Mohammad Road areas. The first rocket landed on Mir Ahmed Khan Road and exploded near a transformer, which caught fire and was destroyed. Three people were injured in that area.

Another rocket hit Faqir Mohammad Road, while a third struck Akhtar Mohammad Road. A fourth rocket landed in Shanti Nagar, where it hit the roof of a house and left a large hole. Doors and windowpanes of the house were also damaged, according to officials.

After the explosions, police and Frontier Corps personnel reached the affected neighbourhoods and moved the injured to Civil Hospital for treatment. Police officials said security forces immediately cordoned off the impacted areas following the attacks.

The local administration subsequently issued a high alert and further tightened security across the city. Helicopters were also deployed to help identify the locations from where the rockets had been fired.

Adviser to the Home Department Babar Yousafzai said the situation was under control and that security forces had launched operations to trace those behind the attacks.

Security response intensified

The attacks prompted an immediate security response in Quetta, with authorities increasing vigilance in the city and its outskirts. Officials said the measures were aimed at preventing any further incidents and ensuring public safety as investigations and search operations continued.

No group was identified in the report as having claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. Officials said the rockets had been launched from unknown positions in the hills surrounding the city.