Roadside bomb kills 2 Pakistani soldiers near Afghan border

A bomb in Pakistan's Baluchistan's province killed two soldiers and wounded two people on Friday.

1 min read

10 April, 2020

A suicide blast in Quetta on Feb. 17 killed at least eight people [AFP]

A roadside bomb exploded near a Pakistani paramilitary vehicle in restive southwestern Baluchistan province on Friday, killing two soldiers who were clearing the area for fencing the border with Afghanistan, two intelligence officials said.

Two other persons were also wounded in the blast near the Chaman border, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.

No group immediately claimed responsibility.

Army and other government officials were also not immediately available for comment. However, such attacks are common in various parts of the country bordering Afghanistan, where troops have been fencing the border for the past several years.

Pakistan says it is fencing the border to stop the movement of militants.

Baluchistan province has also been the scene of a low-level insurgency by small separatists groups who have been demanding more autonomy and a greater share in the region's natural resources, such as gas and oil.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are divided by the 2,400-kilometer (1,500-mile) Durand Line, drawn by British rulers in 1896. Kabul does not recognize it as an international border, causing friction between the two neighbors.

Read also: Rights group urges Afghanistan to prosecute head of IS-linked group for war crimes

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