Four dead including policemen in bomb attack in Quetta’s Kandhari market

Four people including two policemen were killed and at least 15 injured in an explosion that targeted a police vehicle in Quetta – the capital of the restive Balochistan province in south-west Pakistan on Monday.

Pakistani media reported that the blast also damaged vehicles and motorcycles that were parked close by. The explosives were planted on a bike adjacent to the police vehicle.

The bomb attack on the police comes just a day after Baloch organisations had carried out a series of attacks on Pakistani security forces in numerous towns in Balochistan – Turban, Panjgoor and Gwadar, killing at least two security personnel.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed in a press statement that it had eliminated spies working for the “Pakistani military in disguise”. The BLA also claimed that Pakistan has deployed “numerous non-locals in Turbat and adjoining areas to work under disguise for the occupying forces”.

Balochistan is in the grip of a major insurgency with war-like situation in large parts of the province. The Baloch people, who feel alienated due to continuous economic and social maginalisation, have been fighting for independence from Pakistan for over seven decades.

Also read: Suicide bomber kills 9 Pak soldiers, injures 13 in deadly attack in Balochistan