At least three policemen died, and 16 others were injured after a blast targeted the vehicle of the Balochistan Constabulary on Pakistan's Mastung district on Tuesday.

Balochistan has been witnessing a spike in insurgent attacks in recent times.

The region has been seeing a rise in activities by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind, in a statement, said that a vehicle carrying policemen returning from Kalat was targeted with an improvised explosive device (IED), reported Dawn News.

“Three jawaan (personnel) of the Balochistan Constabulary were martyred in the blast,” Rind stated.

16 Injured

He said the blast left 16 others injured.

He said the condition of two of the injured persons remained critical.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.

All wounded cops have been shifted to a hospital while those seriously injured were being taken to Quetta, about 50 kilometres away from Mastung, according to Rind, reported Dawn News.

He said an investigation report of the blast has been sought.

BNP-M Protest

According to reports, the security personnel were deployed at a sit-in by the Balochistan National Party—Mengal (BNP-M).

The BNP-M memebers are protesting for the past several days over the arrest of several Baloch activists recently.

Mastung Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Younas Magsi  said the policemen were returning from duty when their vehicle was targeted.

“On a daily basis, our policemen used to return to Mastung Police Lines after performing their duties,” Magsi told Dawn News.

Global Terrorism Index

As per the Global Terrorism Index,  the most deaths from terrorism were in Burkina Faso, Pakistan and Syria.

Pakistan ranked second in the Index.

It is placed just after Burkina Faso.

ThikTank Report

Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies released its data on Thursday, which showed the South Asian country witnessed a spike in terrorist violence and security operations in March.

Pakistan recorded the number of terror attacks in the country surpassed 100 for the first time since November 2014.

The think tank reported 105 militant attacks during the month, resulting in 228 fatalities, including 73 security personnel, 67 civilians, and 88 militants, Dawn News reported.