Two children killed in bomb blast in southwest Pakistan, police said | News

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif believes that the perpetrators of the attacks must be identified and punished as an example.

At least two children were killed and 16 people injured in a bomb explosion near a police station in southwest Pakistan, authorities said.

Seven police officers were among those injured when a remote-controlled bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded in Pishin district on Saturday, a local police official told Reuters.

“Explosives were hidden in a motorcycle parked in the area,” said police officer Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman, adding that the two children were riding through the area when the explosion occurred.

Provincial government spokesman Shahid Rind told Pakistani daily Dawn News that “terrorists are targeting innocent and sinless people to achieve their nefarious goals.”

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but Pakistan's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and a bomb disposal squad have been deployed to the area where the attack took place, Dawn News reported.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his “deep sadness and condolences” to the victims of the attack.

“Those responsible for the incident must be identified and punished as an example,” he said in a statement.

Pakistan has seen an increase in attacks by armed groups in recent years.

On Thursday, gunmen opened fire on a school bus in Punjab, killing two children and injuring six people, police said.

In February, 28 people were killed in two bomb attacks, including one in Pishin, in the run-up to the elections in Pakistan. The terrorist group ISIL (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Pakistan's government has been battling armed groups operating in several provinces of the country for decades. Some of them are criminal organizations, while others, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, seek to overthrow the government.