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Suicide car bomb rams into school bus in Pak's Balochistan, 5 killed
The attack took place in Balochistan province's Khuzdar district when the bus was taking children to the school.
A suicide car bomb rammed into a school bus in the restive southwestern Pakistan's Balochistan, killing at least five people, including three children, and injuring 38 others, The Associated Press reported, citing officials.
Yasir Iqbal, a local deputy commissioner, said that the attack took place in Balochistan province's Khuzdar district when the bus was taking children to the school.
Security forces rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area soon after.
Initially, officials had said that four children had been killed in the blast. However, they later revised to inform that two adults were among those dead and said that they fear the toll might rise further as several children were in critical condition.
Though no group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, suspicion is expected to be on ethnic Baloch separatists who often target security forces and civilians in the region, the report added.
Pakistan's interior minister Mohsin Naqvi expressed strong condemnation for the attack and condoled the deaths of the children. Describing the perpetrators as "beasts" who deserve no leniency, Naqvi said that the enemy had committed an act of "sheer barbarism by targeting innocent children".
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Balochistan has long witnessed insurgency in the region, with several separatist groups staging attacks, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The United States designated BLA as a terrorist organization in 2019.
Earlier this week, BLA vowed more attacks on the "Pakistani army and its collaborators", saying that its aim is to "lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan.”
Car bomb in Jabbar Market
This attack comes just days after a car bombing attack near a market in Qillah Abdullah, a city in Balochistan bordering Afghanistan, killed four people and injured 20 others.
The blast which took place near Jabbar Market caused massive damage to the building and triggered widespread panic in the region.
ALSO READ | 5 Pakistani officers killed, 10 wounded after bomb explodes near bus in Balochistan
The market was located adjacent to the rear wall of the Frontier Corps (FC) Fort. Following the explosion, a brief exchange of gunfire also took place between the unidentified assailants and the FC personnel.
Earlier on May 6, the Pakistani military said that seven of its soldiers were killed when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Balochistan.
They reportedly said that members of the BLA targeted their soldiers' vehicle in the southwestern province of Baloch.
