A roadside bomb targeted a convoy carrying paramilitary troops in southwestern Pakistan late on August 14, killing six soldiers and wounding at least two others, officials said.
The attack on a Frontier Corps patrol in the province of Balochistan came as the nation celebrated the 70th anniversary of its statehood and independence from British colonial rule.
“It was a powerful bomb and one vehicle was totally destroyed,” Khan Wasseh, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps, told dpa by phone from Quetta.
AFP reported that the separatist Baluch Liberation Army claimed responsibility in a telephone call.
It was the second attack targeting security forces in the region in three days after a roadside bomb in Quetta killed at least 15 soldiers and civilians on August 12.
Balochistan, which shares a border with both Afghanistan and Iran, is Pakistan’s largest and most volatile province.
It faces a multifaceted threat from Sunni militant groups like the Taliban and separatist insurgents seeking liberation of their province from Islamabad.
Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa
