Gunmen launched a violent attack on a passenger train in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, injuring the train driver and taking more than 450 people hostage, according to officials.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the assault, stating that its fighters detonated explosives on the railway tracks before seizing control of the train in Sibi district.
Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway official in Quetta, confirmed to AFP that all passengers aboard the train were being held by the assailants.
A senior police officer, speaking anonymously, revealed that the train had been stopped near a tunnel surrounded by rugged mountains, an area known to provide militants with strategic hideouts for such attacks.
Authorities have declared an emergency in nearby hospitals to prepare for potential casualties as security forces work to resolve the situation.