Quetta, Balochistan
CNN
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Three students from a military-run school were killed on Wednesday in a suicide attack on a school bus in southwestern Pakistan, officials said in the latest attack highlighting the worsening security situation in the area.
The explosion took place in Huzdar city, a stopping area in Balochistan, and targeted a school bus carrying “many” children of military officials, according to Yasir Dashti, a senior government official in the state.
Thirty-eight people were injured in the attack, Dashti said.
“The bus was carrying the children from the Army public school,” said Khaileem Ula, a police officer at Kuzdal.
Army Public Schools is a network of schools across Pakistan for children of military personnel.
At least three children and two adults were killed, according to a statement from the Pakistani military.
So far, there has been no claim of liability for the attack.
Balochistan has been shaken for years by separatist rebellions seeking greater political autonomy and economic development in strategically important and mineral-rich mountainous regions.
Pakistani military accused the “Indian proxy” of being behind the attack in a statement released shortly after the incident. It gave no evidence of that claim.
Pakistan has previously denounced arch competition with its neighbors for being behind the attacks in Balochistan. New Delhi denied the charges.
CNN contacted the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indian Army to respond.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif in a statement “he strongly condemned the coronavirus attack,” repeatedly accusing the military that India is behind the attack.
India has long accused Pakistan of protecting extremist groups that have attacked across the border. This alleges Islamabad has denied this, including the recent massacre of tourists in Kashmir, controlled by India.
Tensions between the two swirled after the massacre, leading to a short four-day conflict earlier this month, which was the most sustained battle between the two in decades. Since then, a fragile ceasefire has been held.
Wednesday’s attack comes just two months after the fatal hijacking of trains by separatist militants in Balochistan.
In that incident, the Baroque Liberation Army held more than 350 people (some of which were security guards) hostage, killing 27 of them.
Children are also targets of some of Pakistan’s most devastating terrorist attacks.
At least 145 people, mostly school children, were killed in Khyber Paktankwa in 2014 by Pakistani Taliban extremists. This is the worst terrorist attack in the country’s history.
The most notable target of the Pakistani Taliban was Malala Yousafzai, 15 years old at the time.
