Roadside bomb targeting security vehicle kills 4 troops in restive southwest Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A powerful roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying security personnel in Pakistan’s restive southwest on Friday, killing four troops and wounding three others, police said.

The attack occurred in Quetta, the capital of the Balochistan province, according to a local police chief, Naveed Ahmad.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatists, who frequently target security forces and civilians in the province as well as other parts of the country.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, in a statement, denounced the bombing and paid tribute to the security forces for sacrificing their lives to restore peace in the country.

The latest attack came a day after a roadside bomb hit a vehicle and killed three people in Kalat, a district in Balochistan. No one has claimed responsibility for the overnight attack.

Balochistan has been the scene of a long-running insurgency in Pakistan, with an array of separatist groups, including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, which was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States in 2019, staging attacks.