Bombing in crowded bazaar in Barkhan, southwestern Pakistan kills 5

Quetta, The Gulf Observer: A bombing at a crowded bazaar in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday killed at least five people and wounded 16, authorities said amid a surge in violence in this South Asian nation.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Barkhan, about 600 kilometers (360 miles) northeast of Quetta, the provincial capital.

Sajjad Afzal, the local police chief, said the bomb was apparently rigged to a motorcycle and was detonated by remote control. Apart from inflicting casualties, the bombing also left several shops at the market badly damaged. Rescuers took the wounded to hospital, Afzal said.

Baluchistan has long struggled with a low-level insurgency by the Baluchistan Liberation Army and other small separatist groups demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad.

Authorities claim to have quelled the insurgency but violence has persisted. The restive province has seen attacks by both the Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic State group.

Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, the chief minister of Baluchistan, condemned the bombing, describing it as a terrorist attack.

“Terrorists are trying to create uncertainty through such attacks to achieve their nefarious goals, but we will not allow these anti-state elements to succeed, “ he said without specifically blaming anyone.