Quetta:
A suicide bomber attacked Pakistani troops near a government building in the southwestern city of Quetta on Wednesday, killing at least 19 people, including several soldiers, officials said.
Quetta is known to harbor al-Qaida and Taliban militants and targets within the city have been frequently attacked over the last four years.
Police officer Hamid Shakil said the bomber in Wednesday's attack targeted a group of soldiers standing outside a government building in the city.
City commissioner Quetta Nasim Lehri said there were soldiers among those killed but gave no specific figure.
On Monday, Pakistan's spy agency said three top al-Qaida suspects had been detained in Quetta in an operation that was assisted by the CIA. Wednesday's bombing targeted the Frontier Corps, which Pakistani officials said took part in that operation.
Islamist militants are waging a bloody war against the Western-allied Pakistani state, and have relentlessly attacked government, police, army and civilian targets since 2007 when the violence began in earnest. Many thousands have been killed, and Pakistani authorities have struggled to counter the threat.