4 killed, 20 injured in southwest Pakistan explosion

KARACHI, Pakistan

At least four people were killed and over 20 injured in an explosion in southwest Pakistan on Sunday, police and local media reported.

The explosion occurred in a busy market in the remote Barkhan district of southwestern Balochistan province.

Police confirmed that at least four dead people and 20 injured were transported to a government hospital.

The bomb was planted in a motorbike parked outside a salon in the market, the police said, adding that condition of many injured people is critical.

Visuals aired on local broadcaster Dawn News showed rescue workers and locals shifting the injured in ambulances in a street strewn with broken glasses, pieces of stones, clothes, and shoes.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, however, ethnic Baloch separatists and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a conglomerate of several militant groups in Pakistan, have long been targeting the security forces across the province.

The large Balochistan province, which is also considered to cover parts of neighboring Iran and Afghanistan, is strategically important due to its rich copper, zinc, and natural gas reserves.

The province is also a key route of the $64 billion mega project Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (PCEC), which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinxiang province to Balochistan’s Gwadar port through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines for cargo, oil, and gas transportation.