QUETTA, Pakistan — A robust roadside bomb struck a safety automobile in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing seven troopers, the army mentioned, in an indication of accelerating violence within the area.
The assault occurred within the Kachhi district of Balochistan province, the army mentioned in a press release. It blamed the outlawed Baloch Liberation Military for the bombing, describing the group as a proxy of India with out backing up the declare with any proof.
It mentioned a clearance operation was underway and “the perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act might be dropped at justice.”
There was no instant remark from New Delhi or the BLA, which regularly targets safety forces and civilians and foreigners in Balochistan and elsewhere.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in separate statements, denounced the assault and praised safety forces for sacrificing their lives within the warfare towards extremism.
The most recent assault got here lower than two months after a lethal assault by the BLA on a passenger practice in Balochistan that killed 31 individuals, most of them troopers.
Balochistan has lengthy been the scene of a low-level insurgency, with a number of separatist teams finishing up assaults primarily concentrating on safety forces. The insurgents demand independence from the central authorities.
The Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic State group even have a presence within the province.