Bomb explosion at luxury hotel in Pakistan kills four people

A bomb explosion at a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, has killed at least four people and wounded 11.

 

Pakistani Taliban have claimed the attack.

 

Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan is suspected to have been the target of the attack.

 

The hotel provides accommodation for government officials and visiting dignitaries.

 

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said that a car that was full of explosives exploded in the hotel.

 

He added that the Chinese ambassador,



Nong Rong, was at a function at the time and so was not at the hotel.

 

Balochistan's provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Lango said that Mr Nong was "in high spirits" and that his visit to Quetta would conclude today.

 

Balochistan is the site of a long-running separatist insurgency.

 

In recent months Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks in tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan.

 

Militants want independence from the rest of Pakistan, and oppose major Chinese infrastructure projects in the area.