Suicide Car Bomb Kills Four Children in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A suicide car bombing targeting a school bus in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province killed four children and wounded 38 others, officials said on Monday.
A car bomb exploded near a market in Qillah Abdullah, a city in Balochistan province bordering Afghanistan, said Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Riaz.
The blast damaged several shops and the perimeter wall of a nearby paramilitary building.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
“All those killed are civilian passers-by,” local security official Ghulab Khan told AFP, adding that the device appeared to have been planted in a parked car.
“It seems the IED exploded before reaching its intended destination,” he said, suggesting the paramilitary site may have been the intended target.
A spokesperson for the Balochistan government condemned the attack and confirmed an investigation is under way.
Balochistan has long suffered from separatist insurgencies and militant violence, including attacks by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which was labeled a terrorist organization by some countries in 2019.
The local chapter of Daesh terrorists (ISIL/ISIS) has also escalated its activities in recent months.
Sunday’s bombing came days after four paramilitary officers were killed in the province.
Two weeks earlier, seven army soldiers died when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.
In March, BLA fighters killed 33 people—mostly soldiers—in a deadly assault on a passenger train.
Violence has surged in Pakistan’s western border regions since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of allowing militants to operate from Afghan territory—allegations the Taliban deny.
Pakistan has also frequently blamed India for backing separatist groups like the BLA and the Pakistani Taliban.
In an unusual move earlier this month, the BLA publicly appealed to India for support.
“If we receive political, diplomatic and defense support from the world – especially from India – the Baloch nation can eliminate this terrorist state and lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan,” the group said in a May 11 statement.
The BLA further pledged to open a new front against Pakistan’s military in areas near the Afghan border, where the Pakistani Taliban remains active.
India has not issued any official response to the BLA’s overture.
