2 policemen killed in blast near university in SW Pakistan

At least two policemen were killed and 11 others injured when a bomb went off outside a university in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Tuesday afternoon, local media and officials said.

Sarfaraz Bugti, the home minister of the province, said that the militants targeted a check post of traffic police outside the province's largest state-run Balochistan University in the provincial capital of Quetta.

Local Urdu TV channel Aaj said that the militants blew up roadside fixed explosives with a remote controlled device and fled the scene.

Police and security forces kicked off a search operation in the area following the attack to track down the on the run militants.

Police said that the blast happened in the busy Sariab Road area and the militants managed to flee by taking advantage of the heavy traffic on the roads.

The injured people including three policemen have been shifted to a nearby hospital where four of them are said to be in critical condition.

No group has claimed the responsibility yet, but outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TPP), and separatist groups of the province remained involved in attacks on security forces and government machinery in the past.

Earlier last week, the TTP claimed a blast at a vehicle of a Rapid Response Group, which left five personnel including an officer injured.