The Pakistani Taliban (ISP) claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed four Pakistani paramilitaries Sunday in Quetta (southwest), according to a statement from SITE, a US-based private watchdog on the Internet.
A spokesman for the Pakistani police’s counter-terrorism directorate confirmed the attack.
A kamikaze riding a motorcycle attacked members of the Border Guard.
He was wearing a vest with explosives and was riding a motorcycle on which explosives had also been placed.
The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a police recruiting center in Quetta, the Pakistani Taliban said in a statement.
The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a gathering of Pakistani Shiite minority members and selling vegetables in the district.
Three paramilitaries were killed on the spot and a fourth succumbed to his injuries shortly afterwards, Azar Akram, a senior Pakistani police officer, told AFP.
According to the officer, 6 kilos of explosives were placed on the motorcycle.
Another 17 paramilitaries were injured, as were two civilians, according to him. Three of the injured are being treated in hospital in critical condition.
The JCC claimed in a statement that “more than 30 members” of the Border Guard were “killed or injured” in the attack.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the “IST attack” via Twitter, paying tribute to the fallen members of the security forces.
Khazars, a minority Shiite in a predominantly Sunni country, are often targeted by Sunni extremists who consider them heretical.
The paramilitaries in charge of guarding the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have been under attack for years in Balochistan province, where in addition to the Pakistani Taliban and jihadists, separatist organizations are also active.
The JTI is the organizational umbrella of more than ten armed organizations operating in Pakistan. About 70,000 people have been killed in its attacks in the last two decades. Its members carried out 32 attacks against Pakistani military and police in August, the German Agency reported a few days ago.
