Bombing kills 3 in southwest Pakistan

At least three people were killed and several others injured in an explosion in southwest Pakistan on Sunday, local media reported.

The blast -- latest in a string of improvised explosive device explosions -- occurred in a Shia-dominated locality in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The bomb was planted in a motorcycle, it added.

The incident coincided with an 11-party opposition alliance -- Pakistan Democratic Movement -- rally in Quetta, which was part of the opposition's ongoing anti-government campaign.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

Mineral-rich Balochistan is key to the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a flagship project of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative to develop trade routes in Asia and beyond.

Various sectarian outfits have been active in the region, especially in Quetta over the last decade.