Incident Summary:
02/05/2011: On Saturday night, on the national highway near Abe-e-Gum between Sibi and Machh, Balochistan, Pakistan, unidentified armed men opened fire on a convoy of the Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Iqbal, the Chief Secretary of Balochistan Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri and Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani, as they were returning to Quetta from securing the release of a kidnapped Deputy Commissioner. According to sources, a rocket was also fired at the convoy from nearby mountains; however, Secretary Home Akbar Hussain Durrani rejected the claim. The security forces of the convoy exchanged fire with the militants, but no casualties were reported. The attack caused an unknown amount of property damage and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack. BLA spokesman Meerak Baloch claimed responsibility for the attack on the senior officials and said that the kidnapped Deputy Commissioner is being questioned and will be freed if he was not anti-Baloch. However, Malik Muhammad Iqbal, claimed that the reports of the attack were baseless, and that there had been no attack on his convoy.
Overview
GTD ID:
201102050006
When:
2011-02-05
Country:
Pakistan
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Balochistan
City:
Bolan District
Location Details:
On the national highway near Abe-e-Gum between Sibi and Machh, Balochistan.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Assassination |
Successful Attack? () |
No |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Government (General) |
Name of Entity |
Balochistan Chief Secretary |
Specific Description |
The Chief Secretary of Balochistan, Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri, was targeted in the attack. |
Nationality of Target |
Pakistan |
Target Type: Government (General) |
Name of Entity |
Pakistani Home Secretary |
Specific Description |
The Home Secretary, Akbar Hussain Durrani, was targeted in the attack. |
Nationality of Target |
Pakistan |
Target Type: Police |
Name of Entity |
Balochistan Inspector General of Police |
Specific Description |
The Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Iqbal, was targeted in the attack. |
Nationality of Target |
Pakistan |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Unknown |
Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Explosives |
Projectile (rockets, mortars, RPGs, etc.) |
Weapon Details |
A rocket and unknown firearms were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) spokesman Meerak Baloch claimed responsibility for the attack on the senior officials. It is unclear whether or not an attack actually took place, because Malik Muhammad Iqbal, claimed that the reports of the attack were baseless, and that there had been no attack on his convoy. Also it is unclear exactly what kind of attack occurred, if there indeed was an attack, because Secretary Home Akbar Hussain Durrani rejected the claim that rockets were used in the attack. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Deng Shasha, “Three Senior Pakistani Officials Safe in Attack,” Xinhua News Agency, February 6, 2011, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-02/06/c_13720941.htm. |
Nation, “Pakistan: Home Secretary, Police Chief in Balochistan Escape Murder Attempt,” World News Connection, Nation, February 6, 2011. |
Pakistan Newswire, “CS, Home Secretary, PPO Escape in Rocket Attack,” LexisNexis Academic, Pakistan Newswire, February 5, 2011. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties