File photo shows a Pakistani soldier standing near a burning bus at the site of a bomb blast in Quetta.
Two Pakistani soldiers have been killed and three others wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in southwestern Balochistan Province, officials say.
Reports say that the explosion happened in Jhalvari area, eight kilometres (five miles) from Mashkey town on Wednesday.
“An improvised explosive device went off near a military vehicle, killing two soldiers and wounding three others,” a senior security official said.
The official further noted that the soldiers were working in the area to help survivors of a deadly earthquake that hit Pakistan’s restive southwest.
On September 24, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck at a depth of 15 kilometers around 100 kilometers southwest of the city of Khuzdar in Balochistan Province.
Pakistani officials said that at least 500 people have been confirmed dead in the quake that shook a number of cities including Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta and Kalat.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Pakistani officials often blame Baloch separatist groups for such attacks.
This comes while some Baloch militant groups say they want greater political autonomy and a share of the natural resources in Baluchistan.
In August, gunmen fired on a checkpoint of the paramilitary Frontier Corps on the outskirts of the city of Quetta in Baluchistan province, killing a Pakistani soldier and injuring two others.
Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US in the so-called ˜war on terror.™
Thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.
IA/PR
Copyright: Press TV