2 killed in southwest Pakistan roadside blast

At least two people were killed and another three injured in a roadside explosion in southwest Pakistan, police said Thursday.

The explosion - the latest in a string of terrorist attacks - occurred on the outskirts of the picturesque Ziarat district of southwestern Balochistan province.

There was no immediate word about the nature of the explosion.

The mineral-rich Balochistan has long been a hotbed of violence, with separatist organizations targeting security forces and civilians from other provinces.

Some 28 people were killed and 40 injured in a suicide blast at a railway station in provincial capital Quetta last week.

Balochistan, which borders neighboring Iran and Afghanistan, is strategically important due to its rich copper, zinc, and natural gas reserves.

The province is also a key route of the $64 billion mega project Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (PCEC), which aims to connect China's strategically important northwestern Xinxiang province to Balochistan's Gwadar port through a network of roads, railways, and pipelines for cargo, oil, and gas transportation.

However, Baloch separatists, who have allegedly been involved in kidnapping and murdering Chinese workers in the recent past, oppose the project.