Seven paramilitaries killed in bomb attack in Balochistan

BALOCHISTAN: Seven Pakistani paramilitary troops were killed and five others wounded on Tuesday in a homemade bomb attack on a convoy in southwestern Balochistan province, officials said.

Violence has surged in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, in recent years as militant separatist groups step up their fight against Pakistani authorities they accuse of exploiting the region’s natural resources.

The Pakistani military said in a statement that “terrorists” from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which it described as an Indian proxy, had targeted a vehicle carrying security forces with a homemade bomb near the town of Mach in Kachhi district.

It said seven paramilitary troops were killed.

A senior local government official told AFP the vehicle that was hit was part of a convoy on its way to a security operation.

He said five others were wounded and were taken by helicopter to a military hospital in the provincial capital, Quetta.

The attack took place around noon in a mountainous region rich in coal mines that has been hit regularly by attacks from separatist groups led by the BLA.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

More than 200 people, mostly members of the security forces, have been killed since January 1 by armed groups in Balochistan and neighbouring Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to an AFP tally.

Dozens of militants and off-duty security force members were killed when the BLA took control of a train with hundreds of passengers on board in March.

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