4 killed in SW Pakistan blast
16 other wounded in IED blast near Science College Ground Quetta City, says official
![4 killed in SW Pakistan blast](https://cdnuploads.aa.com.tr/uploads/Contents/2021/12/30/thumbs_b_c_7435cccbfe746d14942624b450da6cad.jpg?v=221755)
ISLAMABAD
At least four people were killed and 16 others wounded in a bomb blast targeting a public gathering in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Thursday evening, an official confirmed.
"A bomb (IED - Improvised Explosive Device) exploded at the main gate of Science College Ground Quetta City, where participants of a public meeting were dispersing from the ground when the blast occurred at the main gate," said the Counter-Terrorism Department spokesman in a statement.
The injured were shifted to a civil hospital in Quetta, while the security forces and police have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation, it added.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The province is a key route of the $64-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinjiang province to the Gwadar port in southern Pakistan, through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines to transport cargo, oil, and gas.