Roadside bomb kills 3 in Pakistan's insurgency-hit Baluchistan province

A roadside bomb exploded, killing three people in insurgency-hit southwestern Baluchistan province on Sunday, police said.

Police officer Mohammad Rahim said the bomb was planted on a dirt road in Balgatar area of Kech district and was detonated remotely. Three men, two of whom were brothers, were killed while on their way to a family gathering, and a privately owned car was destroyed, he said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast but suspicion falls on Baluch nationalists turned separatist groups who have been involved in low-level insurgency for over two decades in the gas and mineral-rich province. The groups have been calling for independence from the central government in Islamabad.

Kech district and surrounding areas have suffered from insurgency for years. Insurgent groups have claimed responsibility for attacks on security forces and civilian targets in recent months.

Islamic militants and a banned Sunni extremist group also operate in the province.