Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is gripped by violence blamed on separatist insurgents and Taliban militants. — Photo by AFP

QUETTA: A bomb blast tore through a school bus in the insurgency-hit southwestern province of Balochistan on Tuesday, wounding at least five children, officials said.

The bus was taking more than 30 children of paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) fathers to a school in Turbat town, near the Iranian border, police and military officials said.

A remote-controlled bomb exploded when the bus neared Ata Shad College, about 550 kilometres west of the provincial capital Quetta, an FC spokesman told AFP.

“Five children were wounded, three of them are in a serious condition,” he said.

Police said more than a dozen children, aged eight to 12 years, were wounded but most of them were discharged after receiving first aid at a hospital.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Balochistan, which also borders Afghanistan, is gripped by violence blamed on separatist insurgents and Taliban militants.

Hundreds of people have died since dissenters rose up in 2004 demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region’s natural oil, gas and mineral resources.

In October, Amnesty International called on Pakistan to investigate the alleged torture and killing of more than 40 Baloch political leaders and activists against a backdrop of Pakistani military operations in the province.