Aamir Latif
02 November 2021•Update: 02 November 2021
KARACHI, Pakistan
At least 13 people were injured in a roadside explosion in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, police said, the latest in a surge of violence in the South Asian country.
The explosion occurred in the Kharan district of mineral-rich Balochistan province.
The bomb was planted in a motorcycle, which detonated shortly after a security vehicle passed by the site.
The attack comes two days after a similar explosion in Balochistan's Panjgur district that killed two civilians and injured three paramilitary troops.
Condemning the attack, Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Quddus Bizenjo held "anti-state elements" responsible for the attack. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but separatists have targeted the region for over a decade.
Balochistan is a key route of the $64-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinjiang province to the Gwadar port.
In 2021, Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks against security forces and civilians, mainly in Balochistan and the northwestern restive tribal region.
On Oct. 18, a policeman was killed and 17 others injured in a bomb blast targeting a security vehicle outside the University of Balochistan in Quetta, the provincial capital.
Just three days later, six Pakistani security personnel were killed in three separate attacks.
