A bomb exploded in a crowded market in southwest Pakistan on Sunday, killing at least five people and injuring 16, officials said in the Asian nation battling a wave of violence.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Barkhan, about 600 kilometers (360 miles) northeast of Quetta, the provincial capital.
Sajjad Afzal, the local police chief, said the bomb was apparently mounted on a motorbike and detonated by remote control. In addition to the deaths and injuries it caused, the attack also severely damaged several shops in the market. Rescuers took the injured to hospital, he added.
Balochistan province has long suffered from an insurgency by the Balochistan Liberation Army and other small separatist groups, who are demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad.
Authorities say they have already suppressed the insurgency, but the violence has persisted. The volatile province has been the scene of attacks by the Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic State group.
Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, the chief minister of Balochistan, condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack.
“Terrorists attempt to create uncertainty through such attacks in order to achieve their nefarious goals, but we will not allow these anti-state elements to succeed,” he warned, without blaming anyone specifically.