- Title: Injured cadets recount attack on Pakistani police training college
- Date: 25th October 2016
- Summary: QUETTA, PAKISTAN (OCTOBER 25, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF QUETTA'S CIVIL HOSPITAL MEN STANDING IN HOSPITAL WARD INJURED MAN LYING ON BED USING MOBILE PHONE, FAMILY MEMBERS SITTING ON BED AND STANDING CLOSE BY INJURED MAN'S BANDAGED FEET INJURED MAN BEING LIFTED ON BLANKET FROM STRETCHER ONTO BED INTRAVENOUS DRIP GOING INTO MAN'S ARM INJURED CADETS ON BEDS (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) INJURED POLICE CADET, ABDUL SATTAR, SAYING: "Last night, around 10 pm, we were getting ready to sleep when suddenly we heard sounds of gunfire. As soon as we heard the shots we turned off the lights and dived under our beds. We stayed under the beds and the firing continued, volley after volley, two or three times. Then they entered the hostel and hurled grenades and kept firing. They looked under the beds, shone torches and fired on people under the beds." RELATIVES OF INJURED LOOKING AT X-RAY PRINT-OUT INJURED MAN ON BED SURROUNDED MEN (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) INJURED POLICE CADET, ALI ASGHAR, SAYING: "When we heard the explosion, we felt as if doomsday had arrived. Many of my friends in the police were martyred. I want to pay my respects to all of them. May God give them a place in the best of heavens." TWO SOLDIERS HOLDING WEAPONS HOSPITAL STAFF TREATING INJURED MAN (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) SPOKESMAN FOR QUETTA'S CIVIL HOSPITAL, DR. WASEEM BAIG, SAYING: "We received 93 injured people and 61 dead bodies. Among the 61, one was the dead body of the suicide bomber. The rest of the 60 were our martyrs." FEMALE FAMILY MEMBERS LOOKING AT LIST OF VICTIMS LIST OF VICTIMS RELATIVES OF INJURED IN CORRIDOR
- Embargoed: 9th November 2016 16:42
- Keywords: Pakistan Quetta police training centre police attack cadets
- Location: QUETTA, PAKISTAN
- City: QUETTA, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA00155I8MYV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Injured police cadets, lying in Quetta's Civil Hospital, recounted the moment gunmen stormed a Pakistan police training college on Monday (October 24), opening fire on the trainees based there.
Militant group Islamic State said on Tuesday (October 25) that fighters loyal to its movement attacked the police training college in Quetta in southwest Pakistan.
Officials said the raid killed 59 people and wounded more than 100.
Pakistani authorities have blamed another militant group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), for the late-Monday siege, though the Islamic State claim included photographs of three alleged attackers.
Hundreds of trainees were stationed at the college on the city outskirts when masked gunmen stormed in.
Some cadets were taken hostage during the raid, which lasted nearly five hours. Most of the dead were cadets.
One cadet, Abdul Sattar, who was shot in the legs, said his fellow trainees tried to hide.
"We turned off the lights and dived under our beds. We stayed under the beds and the firing continued, volley after volley, two or three times," he said.
"Then they entered the hostel and hurled grenades and kept firing. They looked under the beds, shone torches and fired on people under the beds," he added.
Another cadet, Ali Asghar who was hit by shrapnel, said he felt like doomsday had arrived.
A spokesman for Quetta's Civil Hospital said the hospital received 61 dead bodies, including one of the attackers, and 93 injured people.
Baluchistan, the province of Quetta, is no stranger to violence, with separatist fighters launching regular attacks on security forces for nearly a decade, and the military striking back.
Militants, particularly sectarian groups, have also launched a campaign of suicide bombings and assassinations of minority Shias. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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