Not less than three paramilitary soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in a suicide attack in southwest Pakistan today, Sunday, officials said, as the South Asian nation sees a spike in attacks on security forces over the last month.
Separatists have fought a low-level insurgency against the government for decades in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where China is increasing investment in energy and infrastructure projects.
The attack occurred as a checkpoint security detail was being relieved, Sheikh Rashid, Pakistan’s interior minister, told reporters at a press conference. Three members of the Frontier Constabulary, FC were killed and 20 wounded, he said.
A suicide bomber on a motorcycle packed with 6 kg of explosives rammed one of the vehicles in an FC convoy, Azhar Akram, deputy inspector general of the Quetta police said.
An Islamist militant organization called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, TTP has claimed responsibility for the attack.