QUETTA:A bomb planted on a bicycle killed at least three paramilitary soldiers in a restive southwestern Pakistani city and wounded 10 other people on Friday, officials said.

The bombing took place when Frontier Corps (FC) troops were patrolling a main road in Quetta, the provincial capital of insurgency-hit Baluchistan province.

“At least three of our personnel were martyred and three others were wounded in the bombing,” paramilitary official, Colonel Maqbool Ahmed, told AFP.

Senior police official Hamid Shakeel confirmed the bombing and said at least seven civilians were also wounded in the attack.

FC troops have been deployed in the area and the crime scene was cordoned off. Investigations of the matter have also been initiated. The wounded have been shifted to the hospital.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police said that the FC van was on a routine patrol when it was targeted by the attack.

Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The oil- and gas-rich province which borders Iran and Afghanistan is plagued by sectarian violence, attacks by Taliban militants and a tribal insurgency.