QUETTA: Four paramilitary troops were killed in a blast in Quetta on Friday, the interior minister said, as security forces battle a surge in separatist violence.
Two police officers who asked not to be named told AFP that security vehicles hit a roadside improvised bomb early in Margat Chowki, around 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.
“The sacrifices of FC (border) soldiers for peace in Balochistan will always be remembered,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said, adding that four people were killed.
Three civilians were killed in a separate roadside blast on a highway in Kalat on Thursday evening.
Jamil Baloch, a senior district government official, said that “authorities believe the terrorists had a different target, but the vehicle inadvertently came in the way”.