Gunmen storm Chinese consulate in Pakistan as violence flares across region

Three suicide attackers stormed the Chinese consulate in the Pakistani city of Karachi amid a series of gunshots and an explosion on Friday, but were killed before they could force their way in with a car packed with explosives, police said.

The attack, claimed by separatist insurgents from the impoverished southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan, killed four people, including two police.But it was not the most deadly incident on a particularly violent day across the region.

A suicide attacker on a motorbike set off explosives in a crowded festival and market in northwest Pakistan's Orakzai region, killing at least 25 people at around the same time as the Karachi bloodshed.

HeatherNauert, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department tweeted the "U.S. condemns today's terrorist attacks in Orakzai and Karachi, Pakistan and stands with the Pakistani people in the face of these acts.We send our deepest condolences to the victims' families and wish for the speedy recovery of those injured."

Over the border in eastern Afghanistan, a suicide blast at a mosque on an army base killed at least 26 people and wounded 50, security officials said. Earlier in the week, a suicide bomber killed 55 people in the capital, Kabul.

The bloodletting comes as faint hopes for peace in Afghanistan have been stirred by two meetings between U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban in Qatar.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday his country was "in very strong" peace negotiations in Afghanistan, but he did not know whether they would be successful.

Separatist rebels claim attack

The attack on China's consulate in Karachi was claimed by theinsurgent Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which opposes Chinese projects linked to its Belt and Road Initiative in resource-rich Balochistan. Two police officersand two people waiting in a queue outside the consulate were killed in the attack, along with the three gunmen.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called it "part of [a] conspiracy" against Pakistani and Chinese economic and strategic co-operation and ordered an inquiry, his office said.

Pakistan has long accused its old rival, India, of supporting nationalist insurgents in Balochistan, while India accused Pakistan of nurturing Islamist militants throughout the region.

India denies helping the Balochistan insurgents, and was quick to condemn the violence.

"The perpetrators of this heinous attack should be brought to justice expeditiously," India's foreign ministry said in a statement.

India has for decades accused Pakistan of supporting Islamists fighting Indian security forces in the Indian part of the Himalayan region of Kashmir. Violence there flared again on Friday, with Indian forces killing six militants in a clash.

India and the U.S.also accuse Pakistan of supporting the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan denies this.

Attackers killed by police

As the Karachi attack unfolded, the sounds of the explosion and gunfire rang out in the affluent Clifton neighbourhood, where the consulate is located. Aplume of smoke soon rose over the area.

City police chief Amir Shaikh said the three attackers came in a car filled with explosives, but failed to get inside the heavily fortified compound. It was not clear if the car had exploded.

"They tried to get inside, but the rangers and police killed one of the terrorists," Shaikh said.

A gun battle broke out with the two other attackers trying to enter the visa section, but they were also killed, he said.

A spokesperson for the BLA confirmed there were three attackers.

"China is exploiting our resources," spokesperson Jiand Baloch told Reuters by telephone.

China has funded development of a deep-water port at Gwadar in south Balochistan, and is also investing in other projects in theso-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Balochistan, which is on the borders of Afghanistan and Iran, has rich mineral and natural gas reserves, but is Pakistan's poorest province.

Separatists have for decades campaigned against what they see as the unfair exploitation of resources, in particular natural gas and minerals.

The Chinese government's top diplomat, Wang Yi, said he was "shocked" by the attack and urged Pakistan to prevent similar incidents.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said China would "continue unswervingly" to work with Pakistan to develop economic projects.

The suicide bomb attack in the Afghan border province of Khost came as people gathered for Friday prayers at the mosque on the army base.

The Taliban, who are waging a war to oust the Western-backed Afghan government and expel foreign forces, have launched a series of high-profile attacks against Afghan security forces in recent weeks.

The blast in Pakistan's Orakzai region was also at a Friday festive gathering.

There was no claim of responsibility for either of those blasts.