March 12, (THEWILL) – Separatist militants have hijacked a Jaffar Express train carrying 425 passengers, including women and children, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
The Baloch Liberation Army, which claimed responsibility for the attack, said it had executed 50 hostages.
The train was seized on Tuesday as it entered a tunnel in Bolan, a district in the southwestern province of Balochistan.
It was on a 1,000-mile journey from Quetta to Peshawar when the assailants struck.
The militants reportedly blew up sections of the railway track before opening fire on the train, killing the driver and leaving the train stranded inside the Mashkaf tunnel.
Security forces engaged the attackers in a gun battle, killing several insurgents, some of whom were reportedly wearing explosive vests.
More than 300 hostages have so far been rescued.
Pakistan’s junior interior minister, Talal Chaudhry, confirmed that between 70 and 80 militants were involved in the hijacking.
A government spokesperson described the attack as “an act of terrorism.”
The incident underscores the growing security challenges in the restive Balochistan region, where separatist groups have carried out multiple attacks in their push for independence.
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