Bomb kills three in southwest Pakistan

Pakistani families hold photographs of their relatives, who were allegedly abducted by Pakistani security forces, as they march toward Karachi, in Gadani, Pakistan. Baluch is one of roughly two dozen activists making the journey on foot from Quetta, the capital of southwest Baluchistan province, to the southern port city of Karachi to protest thousands of people who have gone missing over the years as Pakistani authorities have battled a separatist insurgency in Baluchistan. AP

QUETTA, Pakistan—A bomb targeting security forces on Thursday killed three people and wounded 25 others in Pakistan’s restive southwest, officials said.

The remote-controlled bomb was planted on a bicycle near a checkpoint run by police and the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) in the Satellite town area of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

“At least three people including two policemen were killed and 25 others wounded in the blast,” senior local police official Samiullah Soomro told AFP.

He said eight of the wounded, including six policemen and two FC officials, were in a critical condition.

Senior local administration official Zahid bin Maqsood also confirmed the incident and casualties.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the explosion.

Baluchistan has been badly hit by a decade-long Baluch separatist insurgency and sectarian violence mainly targeting Shiite Muslims from the Hazara ethnic community.

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