At least five people, including three children, were killed and several others injured in a suicide attack on a school bus in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province on Wednesday.

The incident occurred in the Khuzdar district when a bus carrying schoolchildren was targeted, the army said in a statement.

Calling it a “cowardly” and “ghastly” attack, the army said three children and two adults were killed and multiple other children sustained injuries.

In a statement on X, the Interior Ministry said the blast was allegedly carried out through a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Khuzdar Deputy Commissioner Yasir said that 38 people were injured in the blast, which occurred near the Zero Point area.