Aref Karimi—AFP
Five dead, five others injured in attack on provincial police.
A bomb targeting police and claimed by the Taliban killed at least five people and wounded five others in Balochistan on Monday, police said.
The attack was staged in the Pishin district of the province, which is reeling from a separatist insurgency and Islamist violence.
“The bomb was planted underneath the police van, which exploded while the officials were performing routine checks, killing five people including three policemen and two civilians,” said district police chief Mehboob Rasheed.
He said the blast also wounded five people including passengers of a minibus.
A senior local administration official, Zahid bin Maqsood, confirmed the incident and the casualties.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the attack.
“We attacked the police in Balochistan today to avenge killing of our men by the Army in a recent staged encounter” in the country’s northwest, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is believed to have substantial oil and gas reserves. But it is one of the country’s most unstable areas and attacks on police and troops are common.