At least 24 were killed and many injured when a huge bomb blast hit a train carrying security personnel and their families in southwestern Pakistan, officials say.
On Sunday, an explosion occurred next to a railway track in Quetta, the capital city of Pakistan’s strife-torn Balochistan province. The explosive targeted a shuttle train from the cantonment area to the route of the Jaffar Express, authorities added.
Security officials stated more than 70 people were injured, with some victims in critical condition. Parts of the train were derailed, carriages overturned and neighboring structures and vehicles were damaged by the intensity of the blast. Thick smoke billowed from the area as rescue personnel looked for survivors.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist terrorist group, claimed the attack, claiming it as a suicide operation against Pakistani security personnel. Officials stated the train was suspected to be transporting military soldiers and their relatives.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the bombing as a “cowardly act of terrorism” and promised that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the incident and conveyed sympathies with the victims’ families.
The attack was the latest in a string of violent episodes in Balochistan, a mineral-rich province that borders Afghanistan and Iran and has seen years of separatist struggle and militant bloodshed. In recent years, the BLA has increasingly attacked trains, security troops and infrastructure.
Security forces sealed off the area and initiated probe into the bombing. Emergency activities were underway at the time of filing the news.
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