Attackers wearing suicide vests sat alongside hostages after militants seized a train in southwest Pakistan, according to sources on Tuesday, complicating rescue efforts following the country’s first recorded train hijacking. The militants detonated a section of the railway track and opened fire on the Jaffar Express on Tuesday as it traveled from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The use of women and children as ‘human shields’ by terrorists hampers the ongoing rescue efforts for the Bolan train hijacking. Pakistani security forces successfully freed 155 passengers, but the government confirmed an ongoing operation to rescue the remaining hostages, without disclosing their exact number.
Whom was behind the attack
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, demanding the release of Baloch political prisoners, activists, and missing persons allegedly detained by the military. The group threatened to start executing hostages within 48 hours if its demands were not met.
On Tuesday, the BLA announced it was holding 214 people hostage, while a security source informed Reuters that there were initially 425 passengers aboard the train. The total number of militants involved remains unclear, though security forces reported killing 27 militants by Wednesday. “People were attacked… some were injured, and sadly, some passengers died,” said Muhammad Ashraf, a train passenger. Other eyewitnesses interviewed by Geo News recounted being instructed by security personnel to keep low during intense gunfire.
