A bomb blast near a Pakistani military base has killed at least four militants and injured 10 others, a Pakistani government official has said.
The Balochistan separatist group has claimed responsibility for the attack in an email to Reuters, saying 10 soldiers had been killed. The bomber struck shortly afternoon in front of a police station, 180 kilometers northeast of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. Pakistani militias are local soldiers led by Pakistani army officers.
Baloch militants have been fighting for a separate state for decades, claiming that Pakistan’s central government is taking unfair advantage of the region’s gas and natural resources.
Pakistani militants have stepped up their attacks on Pakistani troops in recent months. The militants killed seven Pakistani soldiers in an attack on two Pakistani military bases last month. Thirteen militants were also killed in the attacks.
The militants usually attack Pakistan’s military, government officials, gas projects, and China’s interests.
China is building a deep-water dam at the Pakistani port of Gwadar as part of the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor. The 5 billion project, is part of the Beijing One Belt One Road initiative.
But Islamist militants are also active in the area. An Islamic State suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device in the same area last week, killing seven Pakistani militants, including a policeman.
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