A Train hijacked in Quetta carrying 400 passengers has been hijacked by separatist fighters in the southwest of Pakistan, while the government said an operation was underway to rescue the hostages, and neutralize the threat.
Live Terror Operation in Pakistan
A group of terrorists launched the attack on the Peshawar-Quetta Jaffar Express, leaving the driver with severe injuries in the Bolan Pass area of Balochistan, targeting innocent civilians. The militants detonated a bomb on the railway track, bringing the train to a halt, and then took over around 400 passengers hostage, including women and children.
The terrorists stopped the train in a tunnel and took the passengers hostage. Details of the ongoing operation reveal that security forces are engaged in a fierce battle against terrorists who attacked the Jaffar Express in Balochistan.
Bombers wearing suicide jackets
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an Indian backed ethnic armed group, claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to start executing hostages unless Baloch political prisoners and activists were not released within 48 hours.
The militants had made bombers wearing suicide jackets sit next to some of the hostages, said multiple security sources who asked not to be named. They did not specify the number of people being held but the interior ministry said in a statement that an operation was under way to rescue them.
Train hijacked in Quetta and trapped in a tunnel
The train was trapped in a tunnel and the driver was killed after sustaining serious injuries, local authorities, police and railway officials said.
The number of militants involved in the attack was unclear. The security sources said on Wednesday that 27 had been killed so far.
“BLA is prepared for a prisoner exchange,” the group said in a statement.
“If our demands are not met within the stipulated period or if the occupying state attempts any military action during this time all prisoners of war will be neutralised and the train will be completely destroyed.”
Senior district police officer Rana Dilawar said earlier that some of the militants had taken a group of around 35 hostages into the mountains while others were still holding the train.
According to security forces, the militants are accompanied by suicide bombers and using innocent civilians as human shields. Security sources have revealed that the terrorists are in contact with their facilitators in Afghanistan.
The security operation, launched in response to the terrorist attack on the Jaffar Express, is ongoing.