At least nine police officers were killed and 16 injured on Monday in a suicide attack on a truck transporting them in southwest Pakistan, police told France-Presse news agency (AFP).
“The suicide bomber was riding a motorcycle and hit the back of the truck”said a local police official Abdul Hai Aamir.
The attack took place in Dhadar, Kacchi district, about 120 kilometers southeast of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.
The death toll could rise as eight of those injured are in critical condition, the same source said.
Bordering Afghanistan and Iran, Balochistan has long been the scene of ethnic and separatist violence.
The province, Pakistan’s largest, is rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, but its population, some 12 million, complains of being marginalized and deprived of natural resources.
Tensions in Balochistan are related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, on which China is expected to spend more than US$50 billion (€42 billion), with a focus on the deep-water port of Gwadar.
The local police are regularly targeted by local rebel movements or the TTP Pakistani Taliban.
Security in Pakistan has deteriorated in recent months, especially since the Taliban came to power in Kabul in August 2021, particularly in the regions bordering Afghanistan.
Source: DN
