Explosions kill 3 security personnel in Pakistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - At least three security personnel, including a senior police officer, were killed and 23 others wounded in bomb explosions in southwestern Balochistan province and northwestern tribal region Monday, officials said.

According to a local police officer Maqsood Ahmed, a suicide bomber targeted the vehicle of the police officer in Balochistan's Chaman town near Afghanistan border.

Sajid Abdullah, the District Police Officer of Killa Abdullah district, was critically injured in the attack but later succumbed to his wounds, Ahmed told Anadolu Agency.

He said at least 19 people -- including 10 policemen -- were also wounded in the attack and were shifted to Chaman hospital, where one police constable is said to be in a critical condition.

Balochistan has witnessed dozens of terrorist attacks in recent months on security personnel and civilians in roadside explosions and gun attacks.

Meanwhile in tribal Kurram Agency, two Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were killed and four other wounded in twin Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosions.

The FC men were on a routine patrolling in Tigga area of Lower Kurram Agency when two consecutive IEDs went off, killing two security personnel on the spot while leaving four others wounded, Tariq Hasan, Kurram Agency’s Assistant Political Agent, told Anadolu Agency.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a proscribed militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Kurram Agency, one of the seven tribal agencies in Pakistan, has witnessed several bomb attacks in recent months. The area shares border with Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, which is considered a stronghold of Daesh militant group.