Roadside bomb targeting police kills 7 people, including 5 children, in southwest Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A powerful bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded near a vehicle carrying police officers in restive southwest Pakistan on Friday, killing seven people, including five nearby children, officials said.

Local police chief Fateh Mohammad said the attack occurred in Mastung, a district in Balochistan province. He said a motorized rickshaw carrying schoolchildren was nearby when the bombing happened, resulting in the deaths of five children, a police officer and a passerby.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on separatist groups that have stepped up attacks on security forces and civilians in recent months.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the chief minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti, both denounced the bombing and vowed to continue the war against insurgents until they are eliminated from the country.

Balochistan is the site of a long-running insurgency, with an array of separatist groups staging attacks mainly on security forces. The groups, including the Baloch Liberation Army, demand independence from the central government.

The BLA has also attacked foreigners. Last month, it claimed responsibility for a bombing that targeted Chinese nationals outside an airport in the southern city of Karachi, killing two workers from China and wounding eight people.

Thousands of Chinese workers are in Pakistan as part of Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which is building major infrastructure projects.

Beijing has frequently demanded better security for its nationals in Pakistan.

China’s ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, urged Pakistan at a seminar this week to take action against the insurgents responsible for “unacceptable”