On 24 October 2016, three heavily armed terrorists carried out an attack on the

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

training college in

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, killing 61 cadets and injuring more than 165 others. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack, and Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed to have collaborated with them. According to Pakistani authorities, the assailants came from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and were in contact with their handlers there while perpetrating the attack.

Attack

Three militants entered the training centre around 11:10 pm on Tuesday 24 October, while cadets were sleeping, and opened fire before taking hundreds of police cadets hostage and engaging in a standoff with security forces. At least 61 people were killed and over 165 people were injured as well. All the three gunmen were killed during the attack. Two detonated suicide belts and the third was shot by police. Many of the victims were killed when the attackers detonated their belts.

Perpetrators

Pakistan's national security advisor

Naseer Khan Janjua Nasir Khan Janjua (; HI(M)) is a retired three-star rank army general who served as the National Security Advisor of Pakistan from 23 October 2015 to 27 June 2018. Janjua has previously commanded the Southern Command & XII Corps in Quetta and ...

stated to U.S. ambassador David Hale that India's

Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...

and Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) were "patronising" terrorist organisations on attacking soft targets in Pakistan, and emphasised the need for effective action against militant elements in Afghanistan linked to the attack. Maj. Gen. Sher Afgan, the chief of the Frontier Corps in Quetta, said that a faction of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Pakistan-based sectarian Sunni group, was believed to have carried out the attack. Shortly afterwards, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL) claimed responsibility via its

Amaq Amaq News Agency ( ar, وكالة أعماق الإخبارية) is a news outlet linked to the Islamic State (IS). Amaq publishes news reports about claims of responsibility for terrorist attacks in Western countries. It is often the "first poi ...

media wing. It also released the photos of the claimed attackers.Quetta attack survivor: 'We were sleeping when terrorists attacked'
CNN, 25 October 2016. Salman Masood

''The New York Times'', 25 October 2016. Kunwar Khuldune Shahid
Quetta Police College Attack: Pakistan Is Increasingly Vulnerable to Terrorism
The Diplomat, 25 October 2016. A senior security official said that the ISIL had "outsourced" the attack to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. A spokesman of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi faction ''Al-Alami'' subsequently told

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

that the two groups (''Al-Alami'' and ISIL) had "done this attack together".LeJ 'collaborated with ISIS' for Quetta attack
''The Nation'', 26 October 2016. Analysts said that the ISIL clearly has a presence in Pakistan and has local groups working with it.

Aftermath

Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

cancelled all of his engagements and called a meeting with arms officials in Quetta. Pakistan's national security advisor

stated to U.S. ambassador David Hale that India's

Sanaullah Zehri Sardar Sanaullah Khan Zehri ( ur, ) is a Pakistani politician who had been the Chief Minister of Balochistan from 24 December 2015, to 9 December 2017. He belongs to Channal Zarakzai family and also the ''Sardar'' of the Zehri tribe and chief ...

revealed on 10 November 2016 the arrest of mastermind and facilitator of the attack.

Reactions

International

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affair, German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Russia President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, British Foreign Secretary

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

, United States

State Department Spokesperson The Spokesperson for the United States Department of State is a U.S. government official whose primary responsibility is to serve as the spokesperson for the United States Department of State and the U.S. government's foreign policies. The posit ...

John Kirby all condemned the attack and expressed their solidarity with Pakistan. The United Nations and the European Union condemned the terrorist attack, and pledged to "work closely together with Pakistan to fight the global threat of terrorism and expressed condolences to the families of the victims."

Attack

Perpetrators

Aftermath

Reactions

International

See also

References

Further reading