At least four people were killed and 15 others were injured in a bomb attack on Monday in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, according to officials.
The device was intended to strike a police car in a crowded market in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, which is also the base for multiple militant Islamic organisations and the separatist conflict.
According to the preliminary investigation, the explosion was brought on by an IED (improvised explosive device) that was placed on a motorbike and set off remotely, police spokesman Azfar Mehsar told AFP.
Two police officers and two civilians were among the “at least four persons who were murdered in the event,” he continued.
Separatist organisation the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed credit for the assault.
The death toll was verified by Wasim Baig, spokesperson for the Sandeman Provincial Hospital in Quetta, who also said that a five-year-old girl was among the civilian deaths.
In its allegation, the BLA said nothing about fatalities of civilians, just that two police officers perished as a result of their “participation in the brutal treatment of Baloch people under the pretence of investigations.”
Both the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, often known as the Pakistani Taliban, and militants in Balochistan who want a larger part of the wealth of the province have been waging an insurgency against Pakistan for years.
A wave of Chinese investment under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative that residents claim has not benefited them has fueled tensions in the region.
Upgrades to the infrastructure, electrical, and transportation linkages between China’s far-western Xinjiang province and Pakistan’s Gwadar port are being made as part of a $54 billion project known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
