At Least 24 Killed in Pakistan Train Blast

Reuters

People and police officers gather after a blast near a railway track in Quetta.

At least 24 people were killed and around 70 others injured after a bomb blast struck a shuttle train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families in Balochistan on Sunday, officials said.

The explosion targeted the train near a railway track in Quetta, the provincial capital, according to Pakistan’s railways ministry. The shuttle service was transporting passengers from Quetta’s cantonment area to connect with the long-distance Jaffar Express.

The attack was the latest in a series of attacks targeting trains, security forces, and infrastructure in the mineral-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, where Pakistani authorities have intensified counterinsurgency operations following a rise in militant violence.

The separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as a suicide bombing in a statement issued to the media. 

Reuters confirmed the casualty figures, citing provincial government and security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the incident.

The explosion derailed the engine and three coaches, while two coaches overturned, the railway ministry said, adding that security forces had cordoned off ‌the ⁠area and rescue operations were under way.

A security official said an explosives-laden vehicle hit one of the train’s bogies in a residential area, and that some of those killed were residents of a nearby apartment building.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned what he called a "heinous bomb explosion" in a post on social media website X. He expressed condolences for the victims' families and said the nation stood with the ⁠people of Balochistan.

In March 2025, BLA militants hijacked the Jaffar Express train, taking hundreds hostage before a military operation ended the day-long standoff. The military said 21 hostages, four troops and all 33 ⁠attackers were killed.

Earlier this year, Pakistani forces killed 145 militants in a 40-hour operation after coordinated attacks across Balochistan left nearly 50 people dead, provincial officials said.

Source: Reuters



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