Bomb hits police bus in SW Pakistan, killing 1, wounding 15

A provincial minister says a roadside bomb exploded near a police bus parked outside a university in southwest Pakistan

Pakistan Bombing (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A roadside bomb exploded near a police bus parked outside a university in southwest Pakistan on Monday, killing at least one officer and wounding 15 other people, mostly civilians, a provincial minister said.

The attack happened outside Baluchistan University in Quetta the capital of Baluchistan province, said Mir Ziaullah Longove, provincial interior minister. He said rescuers transported the dead and wounded to a government hospital.

No one immediately claimed responsibility but previous such attacks have been blamed on militants including separatists. Baluchistan is the scene of a long-running insurgency by Baluch secessionist groups that for decades have staged attacks mainly on security forces to press their demands for independence.

Pakistan insists it has quelled the insurgency but violence has continued there.