Pakistan Launches Operation to Free Train Hostages Held by Militants in Balochistan

Pakistan Launches Operation to Free Train Hostages Held by Militants in Balochistan | Daily Tribune

SIBI, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan forces launched a “full-scale” operation on Wednesday to rescue train passengers taken hostage by militants in the mountainous southwest, with security sources saying 155 had been freed in the past 24 hours.

More than 450 passengers were on board when militants captured the train at the entrance of a tunnel in a remote frontier district, with an unknown number of hostages still being held.

“Information suggests that some militants have fled, taking an unknown number of hostages into the local mountainous areas,” a security official in the area told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Militants bombed a section of the railway track and stormed the train on Tuesday afternoon in southwest Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, where attacks by separatists have been on the rise.

According to security sources, the “terrorists have positioned suicide bombers right next to innocent hostage passengers.”

Three people have been killed, including the train driver, during the siege in mountainous Sibi district.

A security official told AFP “a full-scale operation” would aim to free the rest of the captives.

“Security forces have safely rescued 155 passengers... 27 terrorists have been eliminated,” a security source said. An earlier count included at least “31 women and 15 children.”

It was not immediately clear how many people remained onboard.

Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in the provincial capital Quetta, told AFP on Tuesday afternoon that the 450 passengers on board had been taken hostage.

Passengers freed on Tuesday described walking for hours through mountainous terrain to reach safety.

“I can’t find the words to describe how we managed to escape. It was terrifying,” Muhammad Bilal, who had been traveling with his mother on the Jafar Express train, told AFP.

The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group that has staged a series of daring recent attacks against security forces and ethnic groups from outside the province.

The group has demanded an exchange with security forces for its imprisoned members.

Authorities restrict access to some areas of Balochistan where many energy and infrastructure projects are backed by China, which has invested billions in the region including in a major port and airport.

The driver of the train, a police officer and a soldier were killed in the assault, according to paramedic Nazim Farooq and railway official Muhammad Aslam.

One passenger described gunmen sorting through identity cards to confirm who was from outside the province, similar to a spate of recent attacks carried out by the BLA.

“They came and checked IDs and service cards and shot two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to... I don’t know where,” said one passenger who asked not to be identified, after walking four hours to the nearest train station.

“Those who were Punjabis were taken away by the terrorists,” he said.

Around 80 of the released passengers were taken to the provincial capital Quetta under “tight security,” said a police official who was not authorized to speak to the media.