News   /   Pakistan

bombing hits Pakistan's SW Baluchistan province, kills 8 soldiers

Pakistani security officials investigate the site following an overnight bomb explosion placed inside a truck in Lahore on August 8, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

A roadside bomb in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan has killed eight soldiers, in the second such attack to hit the restive region within days, government authorities say.

Army chief General Qamar Bajwa stated on Tuesday that bombing happened in the remote Harnai district about 160 kilometers east of the provincial capital of Quetta.

On Saturday, a bomber detonated his explosives while ramming his motorcycle into an army truck in the same region, killing eight soldiers and seven civilians and injuring at least 32 others.

Read more:

The latest attack appeared to be an attempt to spoil Pakistan’s Monday celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of its independence from British colonial rule.

“Our resolve won’t succumb to any challenge,” Bajwa emphasized in a statement posted on Twitter by the army’s media department.

The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) group claimed responsibility for the latest bombing in phone calls to local media outlets.

The Saturday incident was also claimed by Daesh.

Baluchistan, which shares borders with Afghanistan and Iran, was rocked by a series of terrorist attacks late last year, raising fears about an increasing presence of armed militants in the area, including terrorists linked to the notorious Daesh terror group.

Separatist militants in the province have waged a decades-long campaign against the central government, demanding a greater share of resources in the gas-rich province, which is a key part of a $57 billion Chinese economic corridor through Pakistan.

Daesh terrorists, who mainly operate in the Middle East, have claimed several attacks in the Pakistani territory in the recent past and have also established a foothold in neighboring Afghanistan.

Most other terror acts across Pakistan have been linked to the Taliban militants based in neighboring Afghanistan.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US in its so-called war on terror.

Thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku