UPDATE - Blast kills 7, including 5 school children, in Pakistan

UPDATES DEATH TOLL; ADDS DETAILS; CHANGES HEADER, DECK, LEDE

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - At least five school children were among the seven people killed in a blast that hit a police van in Pakistan on Friday.

The incident, which also injured 17 others, took place in the Mastung district of the southwestern Balochistan province, police said.

“So far, seven individuals have been martyred, including five school students, and 17 others have sustained injuries,” Kalat Division Commissioner Naeem Bazai told the local daily Dawn.

An explosive, placed on a motorcycle, was detonated remotely near a police van at the Civil Hospital Chowk, the daily noted.

The children were aged between 5 and 10.

Expressing displeasure over the incident, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said it was “inhumane.”

“We will avenge the murder of innocent children and people,” the minister said, adding: “The monster of terrorism can only be fought together."