A bomb blast kills 1 person and wounds 14 in Pakistan’s southwest

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A bomb blast killed one person and wounded 14 in Pakistan’s southwest on Saturday, including three soldiers, a police official said.

The blast occurred in Hernai district, which is northeast of Quetta city in Baluchistan province.

Javed Domki, Hernai deputy commissioner, said the IED exploded when a team from Mari Petroleum Company was conducting a gas exploration survey. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility.

For years, Baluchistan has been the scene of a low-level insurgency by groups demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad.

Although the government says it has quelled the insurgency, violence in the province has persisted.