The Pakistani army announced that security forces successfully stormed a train hijacked by separatist militants in Balochistan, where a day-long standoff ended with the killing of all 33 militants and an unspecified number of hostages.
Army spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the operation was conducted with great precision, resulting in the rescue of a large number of hostages, including women and children. He furthermore remarked that 440 people were on board the train when it was hijacked.
A Pakistani official, speaking to DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) on condition of anonymity, stated the exact number of passenger casualties was still unknown as authorities were still counting the bodies. Pakistani officials blamed the attack on the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the largest armed faction fighting against the Pakistani government in Balochistan, a province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
According to security sources cited by Reuters, the militants blew up a railway track and fired rockets at the Jaffar Express train on Tuesday while it was travelling from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Before the standoff ended, the Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging that they had killed 50 people. The group demands independence for Balochistan, self-rule for the Baloch ethnic group, and the release of political prisoners and activists whom they accuse the Pakistani military of abducting.