By Saleem Ahmed
QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) – A female suicide bomber killed a Pakistani paramilitary force member and injured four others in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, a district official said on Monday.
“One soldier of the Frontier Corps was killed and four others injured in the suicide attack conducted by a female suicide bomber,” said Bilal Shabbir, the deputy commissioner of Kalat District where the attack took place.
No group immediately took responsibility for the attack.
Several ethnic insurgent groups in Balochistan are battling the central government, saying it unfairly exploits gas and mineral resources in the province, where poverty is rife.
One of the groups, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has previously used female militants to stage attacks, a departure from most suicide bombings in the region which largely involve male perpetrators.
In August, at least 73 people were killed when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways and security forces launched retaliatory operations, officials said on Monday.
(Reporting by Saleem Ahmed in Quetta, Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Ros Russell)
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