At least 4 killed in attack against Pakistani security forces
Islamabad, Mar 8 (EFE).- At least four members of the Pakistani security forces were killed on Tuesday and 24 people including civilians were injured in a suicide bombing in the southwestern Balochistan province, soon after Pakistani President Arif Alvi participated in an event in the area.
The attack took place at 2.50 pm in the city of Sibi, when “a suicide bomber blew himself up among the security forces as they were deputed for VIP (a very important person’s) security movement,” Ghulam Khan, a police official at the Quetta police control room, told EFE
Khan said that the explosion took place 20 minutes after the president attended the closing ceremony of a cultural festival.
The official said that four people were killed while eight officials of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, 12 police officers and four civilians were wounded.
So far no insurgent group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo strongly condemned the attack and ordered authorities to provide the best possible medical treatment to the injured.
“The blast was an attempt to sabotage the annual cultural festival and overall peace in the province,” he said in a statement.
Pakistan has been witnessing rising insurgent violence since the Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan.
On Friday, an Islamic State terrorist had detonated explosives on his body inside a mosque of the Shia minority in the northwestern city of Peshawar during the weekly prayers, killing at least 63 people and injuring nearly 200 others.
Balochistan, geographically Pakistan’s largest province, often witnesses violence due to the presence of several armed groups, Taliban factions and terrorist organizations, having recently been the site of an armed insurgency against Pakistani forces which has killed dozens of soldiers.
Rebel groups driven by separatist sentiments of the Baloch ethnic group, including the Balochistan Liberation Army, have been fighting against the government for decades with the aim of establishing an independent state. EFE
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