Seven security personnel injured in bomb blast in Pakistan's Balochistan

Islamabad: At least seven security personnel were injured on Monday when a roadside bomb hit their convoy in Pakistan’s troubled province of Balochistan, police said.

A passerby was also injured in the attack that targeted the convoy of Kech Deputy Commissioner (DC) Bashir Barech in the Turbat area of the province, but the officer was safe.

Kech Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zohaib Mohsin told Dawn news portal that the attack took place at Press Club road there.

“The bomb, which was planted in a motorcycle, was triggered using a remote control when the DC’s convoy was passing by the area,” he said, adding that five Levies personnel and a passerby were injured in the incident.

Levies are the provincial paramilitary force.

Later, the number of the injured increased to eight, including seven Levies personnel, he said.

The Kech DC remained safe as he was in a bulletproof vehicle, the SSP said, adding that Barech was travelling from his home to office and his car was only partially damaged in the incident.

“The blast was so intense that four of the vehicles parked nearby and closely located buildings were also damaged,” SSP Mohsin added.

Police and Frontier Corps personnel had reached the site of the incident and were further investigating the matter, he said.

Balochistan has been facing violence triggered by the ethnic Baloch nationalists who accuse the federal government of exploiting the mineral wealth of the province, an allegation rejected by the government.