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| Blast in Pakistan Kills 13 Police Officers in Restive Region | Blast in Pakistan Kills 13 Police Officers in Restive Region |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| ISLAMABAD — At least 13 police officers were killed when a powerful remote-controlled bomb ripped through a police truck Thursday morning in southwestern Pakistan, officials said. At least 17 others were injured in the blast. | |
| The attack shortly after 8 a.m. on the outer edges of Quetta, the provincial capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, killed members of the rapid response force of the Baluchistan Constabulary, a reserve police unit. Their truck was headed to a government building when a roadside bomb, believed to contain at least 200 pounds of explosives, went off, according to police officials. | The attack shortly after 8 a.m. on the outer edges of Quetta, the provincial capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, killed members of the rapid response force of the Baluchistan Constabulary, a reserve police unit. Their truck was headed to a government building when a roadside bomb, believed to contain at least 200 pounds of explosives, went off, according to police officials. |
| The police and law enforcement authorities cordoned off the site after the attack as the injured were ferried to Civil Hospital for treatment. Local television news networks broadcast images of a mangled and charred truck, with the wreckage of a rickshaw strewn nearby. | |
| There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The restive, violence-racked province bordering Afghanistan and Iran has witnessed both sectarian and nationalist separatist violence, posing a daunting challenge to the government and law enforcement officials. | |
| A separatist insurgency led by Baluch nationalists has simmered for decades in the province. The nationalists demand greater autonomy and a larger share of revenue from the province’s mineral-rich resources. | |
| In the city of Quetta, Shiites belonging to the Hazara ethnic group have been ruthlessly attacked by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni militant group with strong links to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. | |
| Earlier this month, Mushtaq Sukhera, the inspector general of the Baluchistan police, escaped an assassination attempt when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden minivan just outside the residence of the police chief. Mr. Sukhera was not hurt but five people were killed and 50 others, including 27 police officers, were injured in the attack. | |
| The group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the attack. | The group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the attack. |