2 yıl önce

Fatal bomb explosion rocks southwest Pakistan

The explosion occurred in a busy market in the remote Barkhan district of southwestern Balochistan province.

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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, however, ethnic Baloch separatists and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan have long been targeting Pakistan's security forces across the province.

Police and local media report that at least four people were killed and over 20 injured in an explosion in southwest Pakistan on Sunday.

The explosion occurred in a busy market in the remote Barkhan district of southwestern Balochistan province.

Police confirmed that at least four dead people and 20 injured were transported to a government hospital.

The bomb was planted on a motorbike parked outside a salon in the market, the police said, adding that condition of many injured people is critical.

Visuals aired on local broadcaster Dawn News showed rescue workers and locals shifting the injured in ambulances in a street strewn with broken glasses, pieces of stones, clothes and shoes.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, however, ethnic Baloch separatists and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, a conglomerate of several militant groups in Pakistan, have long been targeting the security forces across the province.

The large Balochistan province, which also borders neighbouring Iran and Afghanistan, is strategically important due to its rich copper, zinc and natural gas reserves.

The province is also a key route of the $64 billion mega project China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (PCEC), which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinxiang province to Balochistan's Gwadar port through a network of roads, railways and pipelines for cargo, oil and gas transportation.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies