Bomb kills policeman in south-west Pakistan: Police

QUETTA, Pakistan (AFP) - A roadside bomb on Tuesday killed a policeman and wounded seven others in the restive southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, police said.

"A policeman embraced martyrdom and three others were wounded after a bomb planted on a roadside exploded when they were on a routine patrol," area police official Faraz Ahmed told AFP.

Four pedestrians were also wounded in the blast, he said, adding that one of the wounded policemen was in critical condition.

Senior police official Manzoor Sarwar confirmed the incident.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Balochistan province, of which Quetta is the capital, is home to a separatist insurgency that has been raging since 2004.

The province's roughly seven million people have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.

Separatist militant groups routinely target security forces and government installations.

The province borders Iran and Afghanistan and has been the target of Taleban and sectarian attacks.

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