ISLAMABAD: A roadside bomb killed 13 people, including 11 security personnel, yesterday in southwestern Pakistan where separatist rebels have for decades been battling to control the region’s natural gas and other resources.
The bomb was planted in a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw in the city of Quetta and blew up as a truck carrying the security men passed by.
Sixteen people were wounded and the death toll could rise, said police in the city, which is the capital of Baluchistan province.
Ethnic Baluch separatists opposed Pakistan’s May 11 general election. Thet have fought a low-key insurgency for decades against what they say is the unfair exploitation of their province’s resources by richer and more powerful provinces.
The rebels attacks gas pipelines, infrastructure and security forces. They have no connection with Islamist militants battling the Pakistani state, who are based mostly in the northwest.
It was the second major attack since the election.
“We proudly claim responsibility for Thursday’s blast in Quetta and the target was local police. The Baluchistan police recently arrested and killed some of our colleagues belonging to the Swat Taliban,” said Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan. Swat is a region in the northwest the militants have tried to control for years.
Prime minister-elect Nawaz Sharif has called for talks with the Pakistani Taliban end militancy, but the spokesman said it was too early to react. “We are waiting for him to form his government and see what type of policies he formulates towards us,” he said.
Separately, four security personnel were killed and 16 wounded in a militant attack on a security checkpost in the northwest bordering Afghanistan. Security officials said 12 militants were also killed and seven wounded. Agencies
