The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the explosion on Tuesday at the University of Karachi, which killed four people, three of whom were Chinese nationals.
“Majeed Brigade of Baloch Liberation Army accepts responsibility for today’s self-sacrificing attack on Chinese in Karachi,” the Balochistan-based militant group said in a statement.
The “mission” was carried out by Shari Baloch alias Bramsh, the first female suicide bomber in Baloch resistance history, according to the statement.
The explosion happened in a van near the Confucius Institute, a non-profit organisation that teaches Chinese to local students. Videos of the blast-damaged van were shared on social media, showing flames completely consuming the vehicle as police and paramilitary rangers rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area.
Three of the victims, according to a university spokesperson, were Chinese nationals. Confucius Institute director Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sa, and Khalid, the Pakistani driver, were identified.
This isn’t the first time Chinese nationals have been targeted by terrorists in Pakistan’s largest city and economic hub, Karachi.
Masked armed men on a motorcycle opened fire on a vehicle carrying two Chinese nationals in an industrial area of Karachi last July, critically wounding one of them.
In the same month, a bus carrying construction workers was “attacked” near a dam project in northwest Pakistan’s mountainous region, killing nearly a dozen Chinese engineers.
Baloch separatist militants attacked the Chinese consulate in Karachi in November 2018, but were unable to breach the security barrier, and three of them were killed on the spot.
Thousands of Chinese workers are employed in Pakistan on a variety of projects that are part of the CPEC.
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Allegedly The female suicide bomber’s Last TWEET
The last tweet of the alleged suicide bomber at Karachi University has come to light. This Twitter account is in the name of Sharan Baloch and in the last tweet the woman writes “???? ?? ????? ????” meaning leave and friendship.
Journalist Sabukh Syed tweeted, “Tweet of Karachi alleged female suicide bomber”.
Journalist Aizaz Syed tweeted that the woman’s Twitter account had been active for some time before the suicide attack. According to the profile, the woman was highly educated, having done M.Sc. Zoology and M.Phil.
The alleged suicide bomber retweeted a tweet before his last tweet in which a girl was armed with a gun. “Revolutionaries do not choose armed struggle as the best way, it is the way the oppressor imposes on the oppressed,” wrote a quote from Fidel Castro. Fidel Castro