Roadside bomb targeting security convoy wounds 6 in Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan – Pakistani police say a roadside bomb has exploded near a security convoy in the country’s southwest, wounding at least six people.

Local police official Mohammad Hakim says Friday’s bombing also damaged 10 shops in the busy bazaar in the town of Chaman in Baluchistan province near the border with Afghanistan.

There was no claim of responsibility, but small nationalist groups and separatists have been blamed for previous such attacks in Baluchistan, where Islamic militants also have a strong presence.

In Quetta, the provincial capital, separatists have staged attacks for years, demanding a larger share of provincial resources and wealth or complete autonomy from Islamabad.

Authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, but violence has continued.