QUETTA: Unknown armed men attacked coal-loaded trucks in the Chamalang coal field area of Duki district on Sunday, setting three of them on fire.

Levies officials said the incident occurred near the Killi-Kach area on Makhtar Road, where the assailants first opened fire to stop the trucks, injuring a driver as a result. “After intercepting the trucks, the armed men set three of them ablaze before fleeing the scene,” a Levies official said.

The injured driver, identified as Habibullah Hamzazai from Makhtar, was taken to Loralai District Hospital. Two of the trucks were loaded with coal, while the third was empty. All three were headed to Punjab.

After the incident, the Levies force and other law enforcement agencies launched a search operation in the area to trace the assailants.

Since February, attacks on coal mines, trucks and labourers in Duki district have intensified, with 21 coal miners killed in previous assaults. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack on the trucks.

Meanwhile, two truck drivers were killed when their coal-loaded trucks overturned into a deep roadside ditch in Duki district’s Mandi Tak area on Sunday.

Senior police officer Humayun Khan Nasar said the drivers lost control due to brake failure, causing the trucks to plunge into the ditch.

The two drivers, identified as bro­thers Sabir Khan and Sami­ullah Khan from Zhob district, were buried under coal because of the accident. Rescue teams used an excavator to retrieve their bodies, which were later transferred to a hospital in Duki.

The Counter-Terrorism Depart­ment (CTD) of Balochistan police, in a joint operation with law enforcement agencies, killed three suspected terrorists and arrested two others after a gun battle in Musakhail district on Sunday.

Acting on intelligence, CTD and Frontier Corps personnel launched an operation in the Rarhasham area on Saturday night following reports of suspected members of the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) planning a terrorist attack, a CTD spokesperson said.

During the operation, security forces allegedly encountered a group of around a dozen militants moving towards the main highway.

“In an intense exchange of fire, three terrorists were killed, and two were apprehended,” the spokesman said, adding that other militants managed to escape under cover of darkness but were being chased.

Arms and ammunition were recovered from the militants’ possession and their bodies were shifted to the district hospital.

“The arrested terrorists are being interrogated for further leads,” the spokesman said, adding that an FIR had been registered with the CTD and investigation was in progress.

In late August, over 22 passengers were killed in Rarhasham after armed men intercepted a Punjab-bound bus.