Suicide Bombing in Pakistan’s Balochistan Kills Five, Including Children

A suicide car bomber targeted a school bus in the Khuzdar district of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, killing five people, including three schoolgirls and two soldiers, and injuring around 53 others, primarily children.

The vehicle, laden with explosives, rammed the bus of the Army Public School on the outskirts of the city early in the morning, as students were being transported to class. Local officials condemned the “sheer barbarism” of the attack and described the scene as chaotic, with panicked children fleeing burning wreckage and bystanders rushing wounded students to the hospital.

Authorities are investigating the motive and actors behind the attack. While no militant group has claimed immediate responsibility, suspicion falls on ethnic Baloch separatists operating in Balochistan, some of whom are believed to receive external support.

The Pakistani military and government have also suggested foreign involvement, pointing to a pattern of militant operations targeting educational institutions and security-force families in the region.
The incident underscores the deteriorating security environment in Balochistan, where insurgents have increasingly targeted civilians, schools and security convoys.

In response, the provincial government has declared enhanced security measures for bus pickups, especially in remote districts, and pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice. The attack has sparked widespread outrage across Pakistan, with calls for stronger intelligence operations and better protection for schools in volatile areas.

Source: Associated Press, BBC News