At least four policemen were killed in the Pakistani city of Quetta when a suicide bomber rammed into their bus on Tuesday, injuring 17 people, police said.
The attack took place near the legislative assembly of southwestern Balochistan province of which Quetta is the capital.
“At least four policemen were martyred and 17 others including pedestrians were killed when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck the bus,” senior police official Abdul Razzaq Cheema told AFP.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack, he added.
The latest terror attack in #Quetta by terrorists is an attempt to portray #Balochistan negatively amidst Chief Minister's resignation. Fight against terrorism will continue despite the change of government in the province. #Pakistan
— Sarfraz Bugti (@PakSarfrazbugti) January 9, 2018
Police and troops have been battling Islamist militants and separatist groups in mineral-rich Balochistan for more than a decade.
Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is the largest of the country’s four provinces but its roughly seven million people have long argued they do not get a fair share of its vast gas and mineral wealth.
The province is Pakistan’s most restive region, afflicted by Islamist militancy, sectarian violence, and the separatist insurgency.
