A female suicide bomber killed a member of Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps and injured four others in a deadly attack in the southwestern province of Balochistan, officials confirmed on Monday.
Bilal Shabbir, the deputy commissioner of Kalat District, where the attack occurred, stated, “One soldier of the Frontier Corps was killed and four others injured in the suicide attack conducted by a female suicide bomber.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Balochistan has long been plagued by insurgency, with several ethnic militant groups accusing the central government of exploiting the province’s gas and mineral wealth while leaving the local population in poverty.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of the separatist groups operating in the region, has previously deployed female militants in attacks, a tactic uncommon in most suicide bombings in the area, which are typically carried out by men.
The attack comes amid ongoing violence in the region. In August, separatist militants launched coordinated attacks on police stations, railway lines, and highways, prompting retaliatory operations by security forces, which resulted in at least 73 deaths.
Authorities have ramped up security measures in Balochistan, fearing further escalations in the insurgency.
Melissa Enoch
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