Quetta, Pakistan

On Monday, officials reported that an explosion near a market in southwestern Pakistan resulted in four fatalities and left around 20 others injured.

The blast took place Sunday night in Chila Abdullah, located in Balochistan province near the Afghan border, according to Deputy Chief Abdullah Rias.

He noted that the explosion also caused damage to the outer walls of a building used by paramilitary forces nearby. Currently, no group has taken responsibility for the attack.

Nevertheless, there are suspicions around ethnic Baloch separatists, who are known to frequently target both security forces and civilians in Balochistan and elsewhere in the country.

Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the Balochistan government, condemned the attack, stating that an investigation is underway.

Balochistan has been the center of a prolonged insurgency in Pakistan, with various separatist groups involved, including the banned Balochistan Liberation Army, which was labeled a terrorist organization by the United States back in 2019.