A suicide car bomber struck a school bus in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least four children and wounding 38 others, a government official said, reports The Economic Times.

The attack took place in the district of Khuzdar of Balochistan province

No group immediately claimed responsibility, though suspicion is likely to fall on ethnic Baloch separatists, who frequently target security forces and civilians in the region.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned the attack and expressed deep sorrow over the children's deaths. He called the perpetrators "beasts" who deserve no leniency.