Armed militants take 450 people hostage on a train in Pakistan's Balochistan province
Topic:Civil Unrest
6m ago6 minutes agoTue 11 Mar 2025 at 12:38pm
A port with a rocky background.
Militant groups have increasingly fought Pakistani authorities in Balochistan amid rising frustration over foreign investment in the region. (Reuters: Caren Firouz)
In short:
Armed militants have taken more than 450 train passengers hostage and wounded the train driver in an attack in Pakistan's volatile south-western Balochistan province.
In a statement claiming the the assault, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said gunmen bombed the railway track and took control of the train in remote Sibi district.
What's next?
An emergency has been imposed in the surrounding hospitals, according to a senior police official.
Armed militants have taken more than 450 train passengers hostage and wounded the train driver in an attack in Pakistan's volatile south-western Balochistan province, officials said.
In a statement claiming the the assault, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said gunmen bombed the railway track and took control of the train in remote Sibi district.
"Over 450 passengers onboard are being held hostage by gunmen," Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in Quetta, the capital of the province, told AFP.
Speaking on condition of anonymity to AFP, a senior police official from the area bordering Sibi said that "the train remains stuck just before a tunnel surrounded by mountains".
The area where the train is halted is a mountainous region, making it easier for militants to have hideouts and plan attacks.
An emergency has been imposed in the surrounding hospitals, according to a senior police official.
The BLA is made up of ethnic militants who want an independent state.
It is just one of several groups battling Pakistan's government over the exploitation of mineral and gas resources in the province.
Pakistan's approval of foreign-backed resource projects in the province is the major source of contention between the BLA and Pakistan.
The BLA has claimed responsibility for several attacks against Chinese-backed projects in the country, as well as Chinese workers.
AFP/ABC
Posted6m ago6 minutes agoTue 11 Mar 2025 at 12:38pm
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