Militants detonated a car full of explosives outside a border force headquarters in southwestern Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Tuesday, killing six civilians and four troops.
CCTV images shared with media show an open-backed van turning into the entrance of the Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters in the city of Quetta before the explosion.
“The suicide bomber riding in a Suzuki van detonated the device, while five of his accomplices tried to enter into compound afterwards,” said a senior local government official who requested anonymity.
“In an exchange of fire all attackers were killed, while four FC personnel and six civilians also died.”
No group has claimed the assault.
However, Baloch separatists have been waging an increasingly deadly insurgency in the region, while the Pakistani Taliban are also carrying out regular attacks on security forces.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest and most resource-rich province, but also its poorest, and regularly ranks among the lowest on human development indicator scorecards.
Baloch separatists claim to be fighting to end discrimination against the Baloch people on their land.
Pakistani forces have been battling an insurgency in the province for more than a decade, and in 2024 the region saw a sharp rise in violence, with 782 people killed.
The Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) reported 521 terrorist attacks in the country in 2024, and 567 this year.
Much of the violence is limited to the border regions with Afghanistan.
Amir Rana, president of PIPS told AFP that “there has been an increase of trend when it comes to terrorist attacks so far this year, especially in Balochistan”.
On Monday night, nine soldiers were killed by a blast in the northwest of the country, a senior administrative officer stationed in Upper South Waziristan told AFP.
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© Agence France-Presse
