A bomb planted in a rickshaw tore through a vehicle used by security forces in southwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 12 people, police said.
The remotely detonated bomb containing around 100 kilograms of explosives targeted a truck carrying members of a government paramilitary force on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of restive Balochistan province.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but most underdeveloped province, is wracked by Islamist and sectarian violence as well as a long-running insurgency waged by separatists, and attacks on security forces are common.
“At least 12 people have been killed, 11 of them were security personnel,” said senior police official Fayyaz Sumbal. “The bomb was planted in rickshaw (tricycle). The target was a truck of Balochistan Constabulary which was carrying the security personnel.”
A further 11 people were wounded in the attack, he said. A bomb disposal officer confirmed the incident and death toll.
Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has significant reserves of gas and other resources, but development has been limited by the volatile security situation. Ten days ago the provincial police chief narrowly escaped a suicide car bomb attack outside his home in Quetta that killed at least six people and wounded 46 others.
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