ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani official says that a bomb blast has targeted Pakistani paramilitary, killing five soldiers and wounding three more in the southwestern city of Quetta.

A local police official, Bangul Khan, says the Monday bombing occurred on the outskirts of Quetta city.

He says early indications are that the blast came from a bomb planted near the patrol and detonated by remote control.

No one has claimed responsibility.

Quetta is the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, where a low-level insurgency has long been waged by Baloch separatist groups demanding a greater share of the region's natural resources or outright independence.

Al-Qaida, the Taliban and other Sunni militant groups are also active in the region