Roadside Bombs Kill 7 Troops, Injure Others in Balochistan

A roadside bomb targeting a security vehicle in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's volatile Balochistan province, killed four soldiers and injured three others, according to police officials. No group has claimed immediate responsibility, but suspicion falls on ethnic Baloch separatists, who have a history of targeting security forces in the region. The attack follows a similar bombing in Kalat, Balochistan, a day earlier, which killed three people, including two women, and injured five others; no group claimed responsibility for that incident either. Balochistan continues to experience a long-running insurgency led by separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army, which the United States has designated a terrorist organization. Pakistani officials, including the Interior Minister, condemned the attacks and praised the security forces for their sacrifices. The government and military maintain that they are working to develop Balochistan, despite separatist claims of exploitation and neglect.