By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan (AA): At least six Pakistani army troops were killed and seventeen others injured in a bomb explosion in the southwestern Balochistan province on Sunday, the military said.
The bombing – the second in a day – took place in the remote Kahan region of the mineral-rich province, during a security operation against suspected militants, the army said in a statement.
The deceased included an army captain.
According to the military media Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a soldier was killed and two others sustained injuries in an exchange of fire with terrorists during another explosion in the Sambaza area of the Zhob district.
“Based on credible intelligence, an operation was launched in Sambaza area of Zhob, to stop terrorists from using few suspected routes to move across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and to sneak into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), along the interprovincial boundary and target citizens and security forces,” it said.
“Security forces remain determined to challenge their nefarious designs, even at the cost of blood and lives,” the military said in a statement, adding that the “sanitization operation continues in the area to apprehend the perpetrators.”
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Later, nine people were injured in two separate bomb explosions in Quetta, police said. In a grenade attack on Sabzal Road on the outskirts of Quetta, at least four people, including two teenage girls, were injured, while four people were wounded in a bomb blast outside a police station on Sabzal Road.
The large Balochistan province is strategically important due to its rich copper, zinc, and natural gas reserves.
The province has long been a hotbed of violence, with Baloch separatists and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a conglomerate of several militant groups in Pakistan, have been active in the region.
Additional report by The Muslim News
[Photo: Doctors and paramedics provide medical aid to people injured during the three grenade blasts in Sariab, Sabzal Road and Chalo Bawari Area where at least 14 people were injured in Quetta,Pakistanon December 25, 2022. Photojournalist :Mazhar Chandio/AA]
