A roadside bomb blast targeting a convoy of security forces in Pakistan’s Balochistan province killed at least seven soldiers and injured dozens more on Sunday, reported Al Jazeera. The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility, alleging that 90 military personnel were killed in the attack.

The incident occurred in Noshki district as a convoy of seven buses and two vehicles was travelling from Quetta to Taftan near the country’s border with Iran. Noshki Station House Officer Zafarullah Sulemani said that preliminary findings indicated a suicide attack.

“A security forces convoy travelling from Quetta to Taftan was attacked,” an unidentified Pakistani official was quoted as saying by India Today. “The convoy, consisting of seven buses and two vehicles, was targeted. One of the buses was hit by a vehicle loaded with IEDs [improvised explosive devices], possibly a suicide attack, while another was targeted by rocket-propelled grenades.”

Army helicopters were deployed to transport the wounded and surveillance drones were launched over the area. Police officials said the explosion also badly damaged a second bus nearby.

Evidence from the scene indicated that a bomber rammed the explosive-laden vehicle into one of the military buses. Sulemani said the toll could rise and that the injured had been shifted to a nearby hospital. Senior Superintendent of Police Hashim Momand said more than 30 paramilitary force members were wounded in the attack.

A statement by the Baloch Liberation Army said: “The Majeed Brigade, the Fidayee unit of the Baloch Liberation Army, targeted a convoy of the occupying Pakistani military a few hours ago in a VBIED [vehicle-borne improvised explosive device] Fidayee attack near Rakhshan Mill on the RCD Highway in Noshki. The convoy consisted of eight buses, one of which was completely destroyed in the explosion.”

“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,” it added.

The Baloch Liberation Army said it would release more details soon. The group had also claimed responsibility for last week’s hijacking of the Jaffar Express, during which 26 people, including soldiers, were killed. Security forces later killed all 33 attackers.

The Balochistan Liberation Army has been seeking independence from Pakistan and was designated a terrorist organisation by both Pakistan and the United States in 2006.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the latest attack and expressed grief over the loss of lives. “Those who play with the peace of Balochistan will be brought to a tragic end,” Bugti said in a press release.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the incident, which comes amid rising security threats in regions bordering Afghanistan.

Last week, Pakistani authorities alleged that the Baloch Liberation Army attackers involved in the train hijacking had been communicating with “handlers in Afghanistan” and accused India of orchestrating the attack.

“We must understand that in this terrorist incident in Balochistan, and others before, the main sponsor is eastern neighbour [India],” said Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations, at a press conference in Islamabad.

Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province and has been marred by decades of unrest. The ethnic Baloch population has long accused the Pakistani government of discrimination, which Islamabad has denied.

In a separate development, authorities in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province claimed that at least two policemen and a private security guard were killed in overnight attacks in Karak and Peshawar districts. The Pakistan Taliban said it had carried out 16 attacks on police in the past 24 hours, according to Al Jazeera.

Provincial Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the violence but did not share further details. Over the past few years, the country has seen a surge in attacks by the Pakistan Taliban, also known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, which is ideologically aligned with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Over 1,500 people were reportedly killed in such attacks in 2024.

The Taliban has denied involvement in the attacks.