Quetta, July 31: Suspected tribesmen fired rockets at a base housing paramilitary forces in southwestern Pakistan, causing no injuries or damage, an official said today. The three rockets hit a deserted area on Tuesday close to the base near Kohlu, a tribal town about 350 km east of Quetta, capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, said Mohammed Ramzan, a government official in Kohlu. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but Ramzan said tribesmen were to blame. The base houses frontier constabulary, a paramilitary force that patrols the border with Afghanistan and tries to keep security in the lawless tribal region. Tribesmen in the semiautonomous region resent the presence of the troops in their area and have been blamed for carrying out rocket attacks.

Assailants fired five rockets at another base of the force near Kohlu earlier this month, but there were no casualties or serious damages in that attack.

Ramzan said they were investigating the latest attack. No arrests were reported.

Bureau Report