The Home Minister of Pakistan's restive Balochistan province has escaped an assassination bid when his convoy was struck by a roadside bomb, police said today.
Mir Sarfraz Bugti was returning after an official visit to his hometown Dera Bugti yesterday when an IED roadside bomb was detonated by a remote control, an official said.
Bugti escaped unhurt as the bomb exploded moments after his vehicle crossed the site, the official said.
At least six suspected militants and a Frontier Corps soldier were killed in an armed clash in the Mashkey area of Awaran district after the incident.
Spokesman of the outlawed Baloch Republican Army (BRA) telephoned a foreign media house and claimed the responsibility for attacking Sarfaraz Bugti's convoy, Dawn newspaper reported.
Baloch separatists demanding more autonomy and control over gas and mineral resources have frequently targeted security forces and pro-government figures for years in the area.
