Three Chinese nationals were among those killed after a suicide bomb ripped through the grounds of Karachi University on Tuesday, Pakistani officials said.

Local police chief Muqaddas Haider said the attacker had targeted a van ferrying Chinese language instructors to the university's Confucius Institute — a Chinese language training institute.

Officials identified two Chinese women and one man caught in the explosion along with their Pakistani driver. Four other people were injured in the blast, local media reported.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a militant separatist group opposed to Chinese investment in Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it sent the bomber specifically to target Chinese people.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack on Twitter, saying that he was "deeply grieved on the loss of precious lives including of our Chinese friends," and saying "the perpetrators will surely be brought to justice."

Resistance to Beijing investments

CCTV footage appeared to show a burqa-clad woman standing close to the gates of the Confucius Institute as the white van approached. Moments later, around 2 p.m. local time, a blaze engulfed the screen.

University authorities have identified the victims of the blast as Huang Guiping — who was the director of the institute, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai, and their Pakistani driver, Khalid.

It's the second high-level attack on Chinese nationals in Pakistan in the past year. At least nine Chinese workers with a hydropower project were killed in northern Pakistan when a roadside bomb hit the bus carrying them and their Pakistani colleagues.

The BLA and other insurgent groups in Pakistan are against China's growing investments in the country as part of a special economic corridor. The Baloch separatists both accuse Pakistan's government of exploiting the province's natural resources against the will of the local people, and have called the Chinese activities an "imperialist project."

China has pumped money into mineral exploration projects in the region. Beijing is also developing a deep sea port and a road and rail track project that will link its Xinjiang region with the Arabian Sea in south-western Pakistan, part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to access the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

sl/msh (dpa, AP)