Quetta (Staff Report/Reuters): A roadside bomb killed eight soldiers in a remote district in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, a government official said on Tuesday, the second attack within days in the troubled region.
The blast late on Monday in Harnai district was some 160 km (100 miles) east of the provincial capital, Quetta, where a suicide bomber rammed his motorcycle into an army truck on Tuesday, killing eight soldiers and seven civilians.
Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) group claimed responsibility for the bombing in phone calls made to media in Quetta. Islamic State said it carried out Saturday's bombing.
Army chief General Qamar Bajwa said the attack was an attempt to mar celebrations on Monday as Pakistan celebrated 70 years since independence.
"Our resolve won't succumb to any challenge," Bajwa said in a statement the army media wing posted on Twitter.