Latest news with #Khuduzar
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Three children among five dead in car bomb attack on Pakistan school bus
At least five people, including three children, were killed in southwestern Pakistan 's Balochistan province on Wednesday after a suicide car bomber struck a school bus, officials said. The attack injured 38 others, police officials said. The attack took place on the outskirts of the city of Khuduzar and targeted a bus transporting children to their military-run school in the restive Pakistani province, local deputy commissioner Yasir Iqbal said. 'The school bus belonged to Army Public School as it was picking children in the morning when it was attacked by the suicide bomber,' he told Al Jazeera. Authorities rushed troops to the scene of the attack and cordoned off the area as ambulances transported the victims to hospitals in the city. Preliminary visuals of the suicide car bomb attack showed the mangled remains of a badly damaged bus and debris of the blown up vehicle on the road. No terror group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan's interior minister, strongly condemned the attack and called the perpetrators 'beasts' who deserved no leniency and that the enemy had committed an act of 'sheer barbarism' by targeting innocent children. 'The enemy attacked innocent children with barbarity. The attack on the school bus is a heinous conspiracy of the enemy to create instability in the country,' he said in a statement. Pakistan's military also issued a statement condemning the attack and said the bombing was 'yet another cowardly and ghastly attack'. The country's powerful military institution also blamed India for the attack and said it was planned by the neighbouring nation and executed by 'its proxies in Balochistan'. New Delhi has not issued a comment on Pakistan's allegations so far. Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed his condolences and blamed India but did not provide any evidence to back his claim at a time bilateral ties are already strained between the two countries. "The attack on a school bus by terrorists backed by India is clear proof of their hostility toward education in Balochistan," Mr Sharif said, vowing that the government would bring the perpetrators to justice. Balochistan, home to the country's ethnic Baloch minority, has been at the centre of long-running insurgency movement with armed attacks carried out by several separatist groups, including the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) which has been designated a terrorist group by the US in 2019. Earlier this week, the BLA vowed more attacks on the 'Pakistani army and its collaborators' and said its goal is to 'lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan'. In its one of the deadliest recent attacks which killed 33 people, the BLA claimed responsibility for an assault on a train carrying hundreds of passengers in Balochistan in March.
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Suicide car bomber attacks school bus in Pakistan, killing at least 5 people
A suicide car bomber struck a school bus in Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five people, including at least three children, and wounding 38 others, according to officials. This is just the latest attack in Balochistan province, which has seen a long-running insurgency, with an array of separatist groups carrying out attacks, including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, or BLA, which has been designated as a terror group by the U.S. in 2019. A local deputy commissioner, Yasir Iqbal, said the attack on Wednesday happened on the outskirts of the city of Khuduzar as the bus was taking children to their military-run school in the area. Troops quickly arrived at the scene and cordoned off the area as ambulances rushed the victims to hospitals. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but ethnic Baloch separatists, who frequently target security forces and civilians in the region, are likely to be blamed. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack and expressed deep sorrow following the children's deaths. He also said the attackers are "beasts" who deserve no leniency and who committed an act of "sheer barbarism by targeting innocent children." Officials initially reported that four children were killed but later changed the death toll to say two adults were among the dead. The death toll may rise, as several children were listed in critical condition. The military claimed the bombing was "yet another cowardly and ghastly attack" allegedly planned by neighboring India and carried out by "its proxies in Balochistan." Most of the attacks in the province are claimed by the BLA, which Pakistan alleges has the back of India. However, India has denied the allegations. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences and also attributed the attack to India without providing evidence. "The attack on a school bus by terrorists backed by India is clear proof of their hostility toward education in Balochistan," Sharif said, saying that the government would bring the perpetrators to justice. Pakistani officials regularly accuse India of violence in their country. The accusations have intensified amid heightened tensions between the two countries during a cross-border escalation since last month over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Both countries rule part of Kashmir but claim full control. The escalation prompted fears of a broader war, and the BLA during this time appealed to India for support, although India has not commented on the appeal.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
A suicide car bomber strikes a school bus in southwestern Pakistan, killing 5 people
A suicide car bomber struck a school bus in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five people — including at least three children — and wounding 38 others, officials said, the latest attack in tense Balochistan province. The province has been the scene of a long-running insurgency, with an array of separatist groups staging attacks, including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, or BLA, designated a terror group by the United States in 2019. A local deputy commissioner, Yasir Iqbal, said the attack took place on the outskirts of the city of Khuduzar as the bus was transporting children to their military-run school there. Troops quickly arrived at the scene and cordoned off the area while ambulances transported the victims to hospitals in the city. Local television stations aired footage of the badly damaged bus and scattered debris. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatists, who frequently target security forces and civilians in the region. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack and expressed deep sorrow over the children's deaths. He called the perpetrators 'beasts' who deserve no leniency, saying the enemy had committed an act of 'sheer barbarism by targeting innocent children.' Officials, who initially reported that four children were killed but later revised the death toll to say two adults were also among the dead, said they fear the toll may rise further as several children were listed in critical condition. Blaming India The military also issued a statement, saying the bombing was 'yet another cowardly and ghastly attack' — allegedly planned by neighboring India and carried out by "its proxies in Balochistan.' There was no immediate comment from New Delhi. Most of the attacks in the province are claimed by the BLA, which Pakistan claims has India's backing. India has denied such claims. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his condolences and also blamed India, without providing any evidence to support the claim. 'The attack on a school bus by terrorists backed by India is clear proof of their hostility toward education in Balochistan,' Sharif said, vowing that the government would bring the perpetrators to justice. Pakistan regularly accuses India, its archrival, for violence at home. These accusations have intensified in the wake of heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations amid a cross-border escalation since last month over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, divided between the two but sought in its entirety by each. That escalation raised fears of a broader war, and during this period the BLA appealed to India for support. India has not commented on the appeal. A vicious insurgency Though Pakistan's largest province, Balochistan is its least populated. It's also a hub for the country's ethnic Baloch minority, whose members say they face discrimination by the government. In one of its deadliest recent attacks, BLA insurgents killed 33 people, mostly soldiers, during an assault on a train carrying hundreds of passengers in Balochistan in March. And earlier this week, the BLA vowed more attacks on the 'Pakistani army and its collaborators' and says its goal is to "lay the foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and independent Balochistan.' Militant groups are also active in the Balochistan and though it is unusual for separatists to target school children in the province, such attacks have been carried out in the restive northwest and elsewhere in the country in recent years. Most schools and colleges in Pakistan are operated by the government or the private sector, though the military also runs a significant number of institutions for children of both civilians and of serving or retired army personnel. In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban carried out the country's deadliest school attack on an army-run institution in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 154 people, most of them children. ___
