A suicide bomber has detonated his explosives near a security checkpoint in restive southwestern Pakistan, killing at least three paramilitary troops and wounding 15 others, police said.
Senior police officer Azhar Akram said on Sunday the attacker had walked toward the checkpoint manned by the paramilitary Frontier Corps on Quetta-Mastung Road, some 25 kilometres south of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. He said body parts were found at a distance from the security post after the bombing. Akram said some of the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll could rise.
TTP takes responsibility
Banned terror group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban or TTP, claimed responsibility for the morning attack.
It was the first time TTP claimed an attack on Pakistani security forces since the Taliban – a separate organisation –took control of neighbouring Afghanistan.
TTP is designated by US as a terror group.
Balochistan has also seen a low-level insurgency by Baloch separatist and terror groups for nearly two decades calling for independence or more rights for the gas and mineral rich province.
Most attacks on security forces in Baluchistan in the recent past have been claimed by Baloch Liberation Army – a US-designated terror group, and Baloch Liberation Front.
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