QUETTA: Six personnel of Frontier Corps were killed and another was injured when a bomb exploded near their vehicle in the coal-mining area of Margat in Bolan district on Monday.

According to official sources, an FC convoy was passing through the area when an explosive device placed on the road went off.

The powerful blast rocked the entire area and one of the vehicles in the convoy was destroyed.

The banned militant organisation, Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), has claimed responsibility for the attack.

A BLA spokesman told media personnel on phone that his group was behind the attack.

Confirming the killing of six personnel in the attack, an FC spokesperson said that five of them died on the spot and one succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

Sources said that the bomb had been placed on the road frequently used by FC personnel, and was detonated by remote control.

Security personnel took bodies and the injured to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Quetta.

The deceased were identified as Owais Mohammad, Mohammad Qasim, Fareed Ahmed, Mohammad Saleem and Mubashir Nadeem (all soldiers) and Naek Gulab Kahn. The injured was identified as Naek Mohammad Aqeel.

After the blast a search was carried out in the area for terrorists behind the attack.

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Khan Zehri condemned the blast and said sacrifices of FC personnel would not go in vain.

Mr Zehri, provincial minister Mir Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti and senior officials attended the funeral prayers and the bodies were sent to the personnel’s native areas.

AFP adds: BLA spokesman Meerak Baloch claimed that after the blast members of the group ambushed FC personnel. “This is part of our war against security forces,” he added.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2016