Female suicide bomber kills four on Pakistan bus

A FEMALE suicide bomber from a Pakistan separatist group killed four people, including three Chinese nationals, in an attack on a minibus carrying staff from a Beijing cultural programme at Karachi University yesterday.

The Baloch Liberation Army – one of several groups fighting for independence in Pakistan’s biggest province – claimed responsibility, saying it was its first suicide attack by a woman.

Chinese targets have regularly been attacked by separatists from Balochistan, where Beijing is involved in huge infrastructure projects as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

CCTV footage broadcast by news channels showed a woman standing near the gate of a Confucius Institute – the cultural programme that China operates at universities around the world – as a minibus pulled up.

When the vehicle got to within 3ft of the woman, she turned her back on it and detonated a bomb strapped to her body.

Baloch separatists have long harboured resentment against mining and energy projects in the region, saying locals do not see the benefits.