Bomb blast kills six paramilitary soldiers in Pakistan

Monday, 18 January 2016 5:03 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 18 January 2016 5:04 PM ]

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers carry the coffins of their colleagues who were killed in a roadside blast during their funeral in Quetta on January 18, 2016. ©AFP

At least six paramilitary soldiers have lost their lives and one sustained injuries when a powerful explosion targeted an army patrol in the Pakistan’s troubled southwestern city of Quetta.

Local security officials said that the bombing occurred on the outskirts of Quetta, the volatile provincial capital of Balochistan Province, on Monday.

The casualties were caused when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) in the troubled region. The bomb was detonated with the kind of remote device.

“Six paramilitary soldiers have embraced martyrdom and one is injured after their vehicle passed over an IED,” AFP quoted a senior security official as saying.

Meerak Baloch, a spokesman for the banned group known as Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.

“We detonated a remote-controlled bomb and then ambushed the security forces personnel,” said the militant group’s spokesman, adding, “This is part of our war against security forces.”

Pakistani security officials examine the site of a bomb blast near a polio vaccination center in the southwestern city of Quetta on January 13, 2016. ©AFP

This comes days after a powerful explosion targeted police forces outside a polio vaccination center in the Quetta, killing at least 15 people, mainly policemen who had gathered to escort health workers.

Pakistan’s Balochistan Province has seen a number of gun and bomb attacks over the past couple of years.

Pro-Taliban militants and some local militant groups have carried out numerous attacks against security forces as well as civilians despite frequent offensives by the Pakistani army.

Balochistan is largely known for its rich gas and mineral resources, but also for its widespread anti-government militancy. Pakistan accuses neighboring India of having a hand in the militancy in the troubled province.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US in the so-called war on terror. Thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.

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