IED blast kills three, injures one in southwestern Pakistan

QUETTA: An improvised explosive device (IED) blast struck a vehicle in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday, a police official said, killing three brothers and injuring another. The incident took place in the mountainous area of Killi Bakhtiar Khan, located at a drive of almost two hours away from Balochistan's Duki district. As per the initial police investigation, the victims were residents of Tehsil Luni who received information that solar panels installed on their agricultural land had been damaged by someone. As the brothers were on their way to the tehsil, their vehicle was struck with the IED explosion in Bakhtiar Khan. 'Three brothers identified as Rehmat Ullah, Naimat Ullah and Atiqu Ullah were killed on the spot,' Mansoor Ahmed Buzdar, superintendent of police (SP) of Duki, told Arab News on Sunday. 'Another person was injured in the targeted IED blast, who was later shifted to the hospital.' Buzdar said approximately 15kg of explosives were used in the explosion, which destroyed the vehicle. 'We have collected some important evidence from the spot, including a battery used in the attack and launched an investigation after a search operation in the area,' the police official added. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, separatist militant groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) have carried out IED attacks on Pakistani security forces in Balochistan. Pakistani forces have been targeted in Duki in the past. At least five army soldiers, including a major, were killed in a similar IED blast in Duki in May. In another IED blast in March 2026, five soldiers of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) Balochistan force were killed while one was injured. Separatist militant outfits such as the BLA accuse the federal government and military of usurping the mineral wealth of Balochistan and denying locals a share in them. Pakistan's military and government reject the allegations, saying that they have undertaken several social and economic projects in the province to uplift the poor. Balochistan, despite being Pakistan's largest province via land mass, happens to be its poorest by almost all economic indicators.