A suicide bomber killed at least nine police officers and injured several more in Pakistan on Monday.
The police patrol was struck on a bridge in Kachhi, Balochistan province, in a presumed suicide bombing, although the exact nature of the attack has yet to be determined, police superintendent Mahmood Notezai confirmed to Pakistan's Dawn News.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, in which 13 others were wounded.
It is the latest in a sharp rise in violence that has surged since November, when a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and the government ended.
The victims were returning from a week-long cattle show where they had been providing security, Mr Notezai told AFP.
The suicide bomber travelled on a motorcycle and struck the lorry from behind, another police official told the agency.
Attacks are not rare in the south-western province of Balochistan, which lies near the Afghan border and is home to a number of separatist groups waging guerrilla warfare against the government, including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army.
Some Baloch groups say federal authorities are exploiting natural resources in the mineral-rich province.
A child was among the victims of a suicide bombing on a police patrol in the provincial capital of Quetta in November, later claimed by the TTP.
The group often targets members of the security forces. It shares a hardline ideology similar to the Afghan Taliban but is a separate organisation.
The TTP called for nationwide attacks after the end of the ceasefire, followed only two months later by a suicide bombing that killed more than 100 people in Peshawar.
Police officers made up most of the victims of that attack, a rare breach of a highly fortified police compound in the city.
Officials admitted a major security lapse had allowed the bomber to gain access to the compound before carrying out the attack in a mosque.
Suicide bomber kills dozens at Pakistan mosque - in pictures
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A man mourns a relative who was killed in the suicide bombing inside a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan. AP -
Residents and rescue workers gather amid the rubble of the mosque after the suicide blast in Peshawar. Reuters -
Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, Asim Munir, and Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, visit a man injured in the blast. Reuters -
Rescue workers search the rubble in Peshawar. Reuters -
Residents and rescue workers gather to look for survivors. Reuters -
People help and console an elderly man after the blast at the mosque. AFP -
People rush a wounded man to hospital. AFP -
A vehicle carries caskets for the victims. AFP -
A wounded police officer. EPA -
Dozens were killed and scores injured in a suicide bombing at a mosque in Pakistan on January 30. AFP -
Security officials inspect the site of the blast. AFP -
People move a worshipper hurt in the blast. Reuters -
The army secures the scene after the mosque explosion. EPA -
Police said a suicide bomber hit worshippers during afternoon prayers. AFP -
An injured victim is moved to hospital. Reuters -
An ambulance transports injured victims. EPA -
Witnesses said more than 150 were in the mosque at the time of the blast. EPA -
A police officer guides an ambulance. Reuters -
Several of the wounded were in a critical condition, a hospital official said, with the death toll expected to rise. EPA
