At least 4 killed, 3 injured in blast in Balochistan's Mastung: police

A blast in Balochistan's Mastung district resulted in at least four deaths and three injuries, according to police reports on Friday. The incident occurred in the Garo area of the Khud Kocha sub-tehsil, a location previously targeted in an armed attack last week that left nine individuals, including six security guards, injured.

A senior police officer confirmed the blast, stating that four labourers perished and three others were injured. However, the exact cause of the blast remains unclear. Another official suggested that the incident could have been a drone attack, and noted that the bodies of four labourers and two others who had been shot dead were found at the scene.

All six bodies were transported to Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Memorial Hospital in Mastung, while one seriously injured individual was taken to Quetta's Civil Hospital. The hospital official reported that bullet wounds were present on two bodies, while the other four had sustained multiple injuries. Four of the deceased were residents of the Bhag area in Kachhi district, while the identities of the other two victims remain unknown.

A recent security assessment by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) indicated that Balochistan experienced a sharp decline in security after two months of improvement in May, with the province recording 71 terrorist attacks, a 109% increase from April's 34 attacks. The province has been particularly affected by terrorist violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.