'Over 100' rail passengers taken hostage in Pakistan after separatist militants hijack train in 'terror attack'
by Kit Heren · LBCBy Kit Heren
More than 100 railway passengers are thought to have been taken captive in Pakistan after separatist militants stormed a train.
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As many as 500 passengers were thought to be onboard the train when the attackers hijacked it.
The militants blew up the railway track in Pakistan's volatile south-western Balochistan province and exchanged fire with security guards on board the train.
The train was travelling from the provincial capital of Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar when it came under attack in Bolan district, government spokesman Shahid Rind said, calling it "an act of terrorism".
Ambulances were dispatched but access was not easy due to the rugged, mountainous terrain, he said.
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The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which has waged a years-long insurgency, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had taken more than 100 hostages, including security forces who were on board.
Officials at Pakistan Railways said the Jafar Express train was carrying an estimated 500 passengers, including women and children.
Three security officials said the BLA, which Pakistan and the United States have designated a terrorist organisation, ambushed the train inside a tunnel and used women and children as human shields. They said troops have launched an operation to rescue the hostages.
Trains in Balochistan typically have security personnel on board. Separatists have previously carried out deadly attacks on trains in the region.
In November, a separatist group carried out a suicide bombing at a railway station in Quetta which killed 26 people.
Oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan's largest and least populated province. It is a hub for the country's ethnic Baloch minority, whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.