KARACHI: Five people were killed and 13 injured in a car bombing at a security checkpoint in Pakistan's Balochistan province, a security official said on Friday.
The attack took place on Thursday in the Kandawa area of Mastung district, where a vehicle laden with explosives was driven into the Frontier Corps (FC) checkpoint, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The three militants killed included the bomber, while two civilians also died in the blast. Thirteen others, including FC personnel, were injured, said the official, adding that the explosion also damaged nearby houses and a mosque.
The banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) later claimed responsibility for the attack, identifying the bomber as Osama Shahwani and saying he had joined the organisation in 2022.
However, according to the security official, Shahwani's name had figured in a missing-persons case in 2024.
The official said the incident reflected how the banned insurgent group was forcibly recruiting Baloch youth and misleading authorities about their whereabouts.