Pakistani police cadets killed as terrorists storm academy
Dozens of cadets and guards were murdered in their beds as militants attacked a police college outside the Pakistani city of Quetta.
Dozens of cadets and guards were murdered in their beds as militants attacked a police college outside the Pakistani city of Quetta.
A major security operation was launched as attackers wearing suicide bomb vests stormed Balochistan Police College late on Monday (October 24).
Two guards were killed at the front gate as the militants made straight for the academys hostel, where 700 trainees were sleeping.
At least 59 people are known to have been killed and more than 100 were injured, mostly in a series of blasts.
Two of the militants died after detonating their bomb vests, while the third was shot dead by security forces.
Daesh has claimed responsibility for the attack, although others have blamed another militant group called Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Government officials believe the militants were communicating with handlers across the border in Afghanistan, where Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is known to have strong links.
The incident comes just months after 73 people died in a similar assault on the emergency ward of a Quetta hospital.
A judicial commission investigating the hospital incident was holding its first hearing on the day the police college was attacked.
Balochistan college has come under attack twice before: once in 2006, when six officers died, and again in 2008.