Bomb targeting bus carrying security forces kills 5 in Pakistan

No one immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which days ago ambushed a train, took about 400 people on board hostage and killed 26 hostages

Quetta (Pakistan): A roadside bomb exploded near a bus carrying security forces in restive southwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least five officers and wounding 10 others, police said.

The attack occurred in Naushki, a district in Balochistan, said Zafar Zamanani, a local police chief. He said the the blast also badly damaged another nearby bus. The dead and wounded were transported to a nearby hospital. Sarfraz Bugti, the Chief Minister of Balochistan, condemned the attack.

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No one immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which days ago ambushed a train, took about 400 people on board hostage and killed 26 hostages before security forces launched an operation and killed all the 33 attackers.

Oil-and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest and least populated province. Ethnic Baloch residents have long accused the central government of discrimination — a charge Islamabad denies. Baloch Liberation Army has been demanding independence from the central government. AP