Four paramilitary soldiers killed in bomb attack in southwest Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Four paramilitary troops were killed and seven others sustained injuries in a bomb attack in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan on Tuesday, officials said. 
The explosion targeted paramilitary Frontier Corps vehicles in Sangan area, some 65 kilometers from Sibi city. 
The outlawed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Four Frontier Corps soldiers have been killed and seven injured in an IED (improvised explosive device) blast in Sangan area,” Mohammad Afzal, a levies official in Sibi, told Arab News. 
“The paramilitary troops were targeted at the Pakistan Check-post, when they were leaving the post for patrolling at 7:30am.” 
The injured persons were airlifted to Quetta, while a clearance operation was underway in the surrounding areas, the official said. 
Sibi Assistant Commissioner Sana Mahjabeen also confirmed to Dawn news website that the blast was caused by an IED. She, however, said it injured 10 personnel, of whom six were in critical condition. 
In a statement, adviser to the Balochistan chief minister on home affairs Mir Ziaullah Langove condemned the incident and directed for best medical treatment of the injured personnel. 
Balochistan has been the scene of a long-running insurgency by various Baloch separatist groups that for decades have waged attacks on security forces and police to press their demands for independence. 
Although authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence has continued in the province. Local militants and Daesh also have a presence there. 
Tuesday’s attack comes a week after the Daesh militant group claimed responsibility for a bombing in the same district that killed at least five soldiers, according to a monitoring group. 
Local media said the bombing occurred near an open area where an annual cultural show was being held, which was attended by Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi. 
The targeted convoy was part of the security deployment surrounding the visit of Alvi, who had left hours earlier.