Bombs, landmine kill 5, wound many in SW Pakistan

QUETTA, Pakistan, Apr 2 (Reuters) A series of bomb and landmine blasts today killed at least five people and wounded several more in tribal rebel areas of Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan, government officials said.

Ethnic Baluch tribesmen fighting for more autonomy and greater benefits from mineral resources, including Pakistan's largest gas fields, were suspected of being behind two bombings, in Kohlu and Bolan districts, some 400 km and 250 km east of the provincial capital Quetta.

The blasts took place in a government dairy farm in Kohlu, and a field camp of the Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL).

A firefight which erupted between militants and security forces after the explosion at the PPL camp killed two soldiers and wounded eight.

''The fighting is still on,'' a security official told Reuters in condition of anonymity.

Two people were killed and 10 wounded in the blast at the government farm. Naeem Lehri, district coordination officer, said he suspected tribal rebels were responsible.

Elsewhere, a trolley driver was killed in Naseerabad, some 200 km southeast of Quetta, when his vehicle hit a landmine.

The rebels regularly blow up gas pipelines, railway lines and electricity transmission lines, and attack army bases and government buildings and facilities.

Large parts of Baluchistan were still without power on Sunday after the militants blew up four electricity pylons on Friday.

A simmering revolt flared in December when rebel tribesmen fired rockets at a Baluch town during a visit by President Pervez Musharraf.

Critics of Musharraf say hundreds of people have been killed during an army campaign using helicopter gunships to quell the tribes, but analysts say the numbers are probably exaggerated.

A protest today against the army campaign drew a crowd of around 7,000 opposition party activists, who marched on the outskirts of Quetta chanting anti-Musharraf slogans.

Musharraf has announced plans for major infrastructure projects in Baluchistan to win back support in the poorest of Pakistan's four provinces.

Reuters CH BD1726