A horrific attack has claimed the lives of five people, including three innocent children, and injured 38 others in a suicide bomb attack on a school bus in Balochistan, Pakistan. According to sources, the bombing occurred on Wednesday, May 21, in the Khuzdar district of southwest Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

Local Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal stated that the suicide bombing happened as the bus was heading to school with children on board. Several children are in critical condition, and there are fears the death toll could rise.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspected ethnic Baloch separatist groups are believed to be behind it. These groups have previously targeted security forces and civilians in the region multiple times. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the incident, expressing grief for the deceased children and offering condolences to their families. He also labeled the attackers as “animals” undeserving of any mercy. Several separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), have long been carrying out attacks in this region of Balochistan, primarily targeting the military and civilians.

In 2019, the United States designated the BLA as a terrorist organization. This latest attack comes days after a suicide bombing near a market in Killah Abdullah, a town in Balochistan bordering Afghanistan, killed four and injured 20. That explosion, near Jabbar Market, extensively damaged the building and caused widespread panic. A brief exchange of gunfire also occurred between unknown assailants and FC personnel after the blast. The current suicide attack in Balochistan, which tragically ended the lives of four innocent children, occurred just days after these events. On May 6, the Pakistani army had reported that seven of its soldiers were killed when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Balochistan, an incident for which BLA members were held responsible.