KARACHI – At least four people were killed and over 20 injured in an explosion in southwest Pakistan today, Anadolu Agency reported, citing police and local media reports.
The explosion occurred in a busy market in the remote Barkhan district of southwestern Balochistan province.
The bomb was planted in a motorbike parked outside a salon in the market, police said, adding that the condition of many injured people is critical.
Visuals aired on local broadcaster Dawn News showed rescue workers and locals shifting the injured in ambulances in a street strewn with broken glasses, pieces of stones, clothes, and shoes.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, ethnic Baloch separatists and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a conglomerate of several militant groups in Pakistan, have long been targeting the security forces across the province.
The large Balochistan province, which is also considered to cover parts of neighbouring Iran and Afghanistan, is strategically important due to its rich copper, zinc, and natural gas reserves.
The province is also a key route of the US$64 billion (RM283.87 billion) mega-project Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinjiang province to Balochistan’s Gwadar port through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines for cargo, oil, and gas transportation. – Bernama, February 26, 2023
