QUETTA: Two police personnel, including the deputy superintendent of the Balochistan Constabulary, were martyred and five others, including three Levies men, were injured in coordinated armed attacks by unidentified assailants in the Mastung district on Friday.

Separately, a highway police vehicle was targeted with a bomb in Dera Murad Jamali.

Officials said a convoy of the Balochistan Constabulary was on itsway to Quetta from Kalat when it came under fire near the Chotu area on the outskirts of Mastung, along the Quetta-Karachi highway.

Armed men, hiding in nearby hills, opened fire on the lead vehicle of the convoy using heavy automatie weapons.

As a result, one constable was martyred on the spot, while three others, including Acting DSP Abdul Razaaq Swati, sustained serious injuries.

Balochistan Constabulary personnel returned fire, but the attackers managed to flee into the mountains.

The injured were rushed to Nawab Raisani Memorial Hospital in Mastung, where DSP Swati succumbed to his wounds.

Government spokesperson Shahid Rind confirmed the details, saying that the convoy comprised two trucks and two pickup vehicles.

`Acting DSP Abdul Razaaq Swati and Constable Raza Mohammad embraced martyrdom, while Constables Taj Mohammad and Khurshid Ahmed were wounded, he said.

He said that security forces reached the site of the attack and launched a search operation. The bodies of the martyred officers and the injured were airlifted to Quetta by helicopter.

Levies post targeted In a separate incident, armed men attacked a Levies post in the Kirdgab area of Mastung during the early hours of Friday. Director General of Balochistan Levies Ghaffar Magsi confirmed the attack.

Levies officials said armed men opened fire on the post using heavy weapons, prompting a swift response from personnel stationed at the post and the nearby Levies station.

The exchange of fire lasted for nearly an hour, injuring three Levies personnel. However, the attackers managed to flee. Theinjured were later taken to the district hospital in Mastung.

In Dera Murad Jamali, an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted a Balochistan Highway Police patrol vehicle. Officials said the IED had been planted on the Quetta-Sukkur highway near the Agriculture University in the Notal area of Nasirabad district.

The device was detonated via remote control as the patrol vehicle passed by. The explosion severely damaged the vehicle, though all police personnel inside escaped unharmed. `Fortunately, there were no casualties,` a senior police officer told Dawn.

Spokesperson Shahid Rind also said that `these cowardly terrorist incidents reflect the desperation of the enemies of peace in Balochistan`. An official investigation is underway and the perpetrators will be brought to justice, he added.

Funeral Funeral prayers for the martyred officers were offered in Quetta.

Acting DSP Abdul Razaaq Swati and Constable Raza Mohammad were laid to rest with full state honours in their native towns.

Senior civil and military officials, including Inspector General Police Balochistan Moazzam Jah Ansari, IG FC Balochistan Maj Gen Abid Mazhar, Additional ChiefSecretary (Home) Muhammad Hamza Shafgaat and DIG Quetta Aitzaz Goraya, attended the ceremony. A police contingent presented a salute to honour the fallen officers.

FIR against Kalat coach attack In a separate development, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Balochistan Police has registered an FIR against unidentified assailants in connection with the armed attack on a Quettabound passenger coach near Kalat, which left three people dead and 14 others injured.

Officials said the FIR was filed at the CTD Police Station in Kalat on the complaint of the SHO of the Kalat Police Station. The case includes charges of murder, attempted murder and terrorism.

The incident took place earlier this week in the Nemargh area of Kalat district, when unidentified gunmen opened indiscriminate fire on a passenger coach travelling from Karachi to Quetta.

Among the deceased were three Karachi-based Qawwals who were travelling with musicians to Quetta to perform at a wedding ceremony.

Fourteen other passengers sustained injuries in the armed attack.

Ali Jan Mangi in Dera Murad Jamali also contributed to this report