Four Pakistani troops were killed while three others sustained serious injuries as a powerful roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying security personnel in Pakistan's restive southwest on Friday. According to a local police chief, Naveed Ahmad, the attack occurred in Quetta, the capital of the Balochistan province. While no group has taken responsibility for the attack, suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatists, who are reported to be frequently targeting the security forces in the province.
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 remains unstable, as it has been the scene of a long-running insurgency in Pakistan. The province has an array of separatist groups, including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, which was designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States in 2019, staging attacks.
Earlier, two security personnel guarding a polio vaccination team were shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, police said.
The incident took place in the Teeri area of Mastung district, where Levies personnel protecting the polio vaccination team were attacked by masked gunmen, Assistant Commissioner Akram Harifal told the media.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, militants frequently target polio vaccinators in Pakistan, terming them un-Islamic and against Sharia.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack on the polio vaccination team, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
(With inputs from AP)
