At least seven including five school children and a policeman were killed and 23 were injured on Friday in an explosion in Balochistan’s Mastung district, Aaj News reported.

As per the report, the blast occurred close to a police van at a chowk near the Civil Hospital and a girls’ school.

“The target was a police van which was going to pickup a polio (vaccination) team,” Senior Superintendent of Police Rehmatullah told Reuters.

The explosion came from an improvised device attached to a motorcycle parked near a school for girls in the town of Mastung, he said.

The blast caused damage to the police vehicle and a rickshaw.

The injured were transported to the Civil Hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, an investigation has also been launched.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack and said that the explosion on the school is a clear proof of terrorists’ hostility towards education in Balochistan.

He directed the authorities concerned to apprehend the perpetrators of the blast and award them exemplary punishment. He also instructed to provide the best medical treatment facilities to the injured.

Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti also condemned the blast. He said it was “inhumane” and that they will avenge the murder of innocent children and people.

The CM said that civilians in urban areas also needed to be on the watch for the terrorists.

“The monster of terrorism can only be fought together,” he said.

Balochistan has seen an increase in strikes by terrorists this year. Earlier this week, five people were killed in an attack by armed men on the construction site of a small dam in Balochistan.

The five dead, and two injured, all worked at the construction site in the Panjgur, spokesperson for the Balochistan government Shahid Rind said in a statement, saying the attack took place late on Monday night.