14 Killed From Suicide Bombing in Pakistan

Map of Pakistan

A suicide bombing in southwestern Pakistan left 14 people dead and 20 others injured Wednesday, police said.


Wednesday's blast took place in the city of Quetta, a militant hotspot close to the Afghan border.


Abdullah Afridi, a senior police official in the city of Quetta, said a suicide bomber tried to enter in the residence of a senior official of the Frontier Corps - a paramilitary force - and blew himself up when the soldiers fired at him.


Police officer Hamid Shakil says the target was a group of Frontier Corps soldiers standing outside a government building in the city. City commissioner Quetta Nasim Lehri says there were soldiers among the 14 people killed.


Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province, which has been a hotbed for militancy.


Recently, Pakistan's military announced it apprehended three al-Qaeda leaders from the suburbs of Quetta with the help of paramilitary forces.


The military said the Frontier Corps helped nab the three al-Qaeda leaders.


Islamist militants are waging war against the Western-allied Pakistani state. Several thousand people have been killed since 2007.