At least nine policemen were killed and 16 wounded on Monday in a suicide attack on a truck carrying them in southwestern Pakistan, police told Agence France-Presse (AFP) news.
“The suicide bomber was on a motorcycle and hit the back of the truck,” local police officer Abdul Hai Aamir said.
The attack took place in Dhadar, in the Kacchi district, some 120 kilometers southeast of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.
The death toll could rise, as eight of the injured are in critical condition, the same source added.
Balochistan borders Afghanistan and Iran and has long been the scene of ethnic and separatist violence.
The province, the largest in Pakistan, is rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, but the population, around 12 million, complains of being marginalized and deprived of natural resources.
The tensions in Balochistan are related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, in which China is expected to spend more than 50,000 million dollars (42,000 million euros), with emphasis on the deep-water port of Gwadar.
Local police are the usual target of local rebel movements or the Pakistani Taliban of the TTP.
Security in Pakistan has deteriorated in recent months, particularly since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in August 2021, especially in the border regions with Afghanistan.
Source: TSF
