At least 6 dead, 24 injured in blast in Pakistan
Islamabad, Aug 10 (efe-epa).- At least six people were killed and 24 wounded on Monday in a bomb attack in Chaman locality, in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan in Pakistan.
The explosion occurred mid-morning at a market in Chaman, a south-western town bordering Afghanistan, while a vehicle of the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) was passing by, Gul Rahim, a police spokesperson from the locality, told EFE.
“The IED (improvised explosive device) was planted in a motorbike which was parked on the roadside. Apparently it tried to hit the (ANF) vehicle,”
Two of the 24 wounded are members of the anti-narcotics force.
Footage broadcast on Pakistani television channels showed shops and vehicles damaged in the explosion.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack and expressed regret for the loss of lives.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Balochistan, the largest and least populated region of the Asian country, bears witness to regular attacks by secessionist groups, as well as armed Islamist groups and mafia networks that operate across the country, making it one of the most unstable and unsafe regions in Pakistan.
The region, which is also one of the country’s least developed, is the location for a Chinese project worth millions that will connect Kashgar in western China with the Pakistani port of Gwadar in Balochistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor framework.
The Baloch Liberation Army, which seeks independence for Balochistan province, had claimed an attack in late June on the Stock Exchange at Karachi, capital of Sindh Province, which had left seven dead, including four insurgents.
In recent years, terrorism has decreased considerably in the Asian country, however attacks still continue to take place. EFE-EPA
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