Three men from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) have confessed to involvement in a car bomb blast near a US fast food chain outlet that killed three people, a court official said. An anti-terrorism court had remanded the men in custody for seven days while investigations continued into Tuesdayâs bombing of a branch of the KFC chain in Karachi, said public prosecutor Habib Ahmed.Police said the trio belong to the BLA, which is engaged in a low-level insurgency in Balochistan. A purported representative of the group had claimed responsibility hours after the blast, which killed two security guards and a passer-by, saying the attack had been targeted at Pakistan Petroleum Limited offices near the KFC. The state-run company operates a large natural gas field in impoverished Balochistan, whose tribes believe they should be getting a greater share of profits from the provinceâs natural wealth. âThe accused during interrogation confessed their role in the bombing,â Ahmed said, adding that âmany of their accomplices are still in hidingâ.
Chief police investigator Manzoor Mughal said the trio, all aged in their 30s, were arrested while trying to escape in a car. They included the âgang leaderâ, identified as Aziz Khan. Police recovered two Kalashnikovs, two grenades and three kilogrammes of explosive material from a building they used as a hideout, he said. âThey were working for the so-called BLA,â he said. âSeveral of their accomplices, who are hiding in Karachi, will also be arrested shortly,â he said, stressing the âBLA was behind the blastâ.