Three Chinese among five wounded in Balochistan suicide attack

QUETTA:  A suicide attack on Saturday in Balochistan targeted a bus carrying Chinese engineers, wounding at least five people including three Chinese nationals, Geo News reported.

The attack came in Dalbandin region, around 340 kilometres (211 miles) from Quetta when the Chinese engineers working on a mineral project were being transported to the city.

Local administration and police officials told AFP that two paramilitary soldiers providing security the the driver of the bus were wounded in the attack alongside the two Chinese nationals.

"The attacker, waiting in a small truck along the route, exploded the vehicle when the bus carrying Chinese engineers came close to him," Dostain Dashti, a senior police officer in the region, told AFP on phone.

He said that the body of the suicide attacker was blown up in the attack and his vehicle caught fire.

Saifullah Khaitran, a senior local administration official, confirmed the attack, adding that the condition of all the injured was stable.

He added that the engineers were working on the Saindak project, a joint venture between Pakistan and China to extract gold, copper and silver from an area close to the Iranian border.

Muhammad Ibrahim, the driver of the targeted bus, told AFP from his hospital bed that he had averted major loss by slamming on the brakes when he saw blast in front of him.

"The whole bus would have burnt if I had not applied the brakes in emergency," he said.