A roadside bomb exploded near a bus carrying security forces in restive southwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least five officers and wounding 10 others, police said.

The attack occurred in Naushki, a district in Balochistan, said Zafar Zamanani, a local police chief. He said the blast also badly damaged another nearby bus. The dead and wounded were transported to a nearby hospital.

Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister of Balochistan, condemned the attack.

No one immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, which days ago ambushed a train, took about 400 people on board hostage and killed 26 hostages before security forces launched an operation and killed all the 33 attackers.

Oil-and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan's largest and least populated province.

Ethnic Baloch residents have long accused the central government of discrimination — a charge Islamabad denies.

Baloch Liberation Army has been demanding independence from the central government.

Report says 90 Pak troops killed

In a report by India Today, the BLA, which claimed responsibility, alleged that the death toll was far higher — 90 Pakistani troops killed in what it described as a “Fidayee attack.”

The convoy, traveling from Quetta to Taftan, came under attack on the RCD Highway near Rakhshan Mill. According to security officials, the attack began when a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) struck one of the buses. Another was targeted with Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs). “One of the buses was completely destroyed,” a security official told Dawn.

Initial investigations suggest a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the convoy, said the Noshki Station House Officer (SHO). “Evidence from the site strongly indicates a suicide attack,” he told reporters.

EurAsian Times says the BLA’s Majeed Brigade, its suicide unit, has claimed responsibility.

“A convoy of the occupying Pakistani military was targeted in a VBIED Fidayee attack. One bus was completely destroyed,” the statement read.

It added, “Immediately after the attack, the Fateh Squad of the BLA advanced and completely surrounded another bus, systematically eliminating all military personnel on board, bringing the total number of enemy casualties to 90.”

Spotlight on recent attack

The attack follows a recent BLA operation in which insurgents hijacked a train near Sibi, taking nearly 440 passengers hostage.

According to Pakistani military officials, 26 hostages were killed before security forces launched an operation, eliminating all 33 attackers. The BLA had derailed the train using explosives, killing 18 off-duty military and paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel, three railway staff, and five passengers.

The Baloch problem

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, has long been the center of an armed insurgency.Ethnic Baloch militants have been fighting for independence, accusing the central government of discrimination—an allegation Islamabad denies.

While Pakistani officials confirmed seven soldiers were killed in Sunday’s convoy attack, the BLA’s claim of 90 dead remains unverified

(With inputs from AP)