Militants take hundreds hostage in Pakistan – AFP
Armed militants have seized a train in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and are holding 450 passengers hostage, according to AFP news agency.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that its fighters struck the railway track with explosives before taking control of the train in the remote Sibi district, the news agency wrote, citing a statement issued by the group.
A senior railway official in Quetta, the capital of the province, has confirmed the seizure of hostages, according to AFP. The train driver is said to have been injured.
In a purported BLA statement circulating on social media, the group claims that 11 military personnel have been killed. The militants have reportedly threatened to kill all the hostages if the Pakistani authorities launch an operation to free them.
The group claims to have released women, children, and Baloch passengers from the train, and says it has kept 100 hostages who are active-duty personnel of the Pakistani military, police, the country’s anti-terrorism force and intelligence officers.
BLA has also claimed that it has repelled a Pakistani military ground assault, but helicopters and drones continue to conduct airstrikes. It has demanded an immediate halt to the air bombardment, warning that otherwise the hostages will be executed within an hour.
BLA is an armed separatist group that has long sought independence for the Balochistan province from the central government in Islamabad. It has been designated as a terrorist organization by Pakistan and two other countries: the United Kingdom and the United States.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but least populated province; it is home to key mining projects and the ethnic Baloch minority.
The insurgents frequently target police and military forces in the region, as well as foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals assisting in the construction of Pakistan’s infrastructure projects as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. Apart from the separatists, Islamist militants are known to operate in the area.
The train in question is reported to be the Jaffar Express, a passenger train operated daily by Pakistan Railways between Quetta and Peshawar.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused neighboring Afghanistan of providing a safe haven for BLA fighters, particularly before the Taliban took control of the country. However, there is no evidence that the new government in Kabul is cracking down on the separatists.
27 people were killed and 155 hostages freed by Pakistani troops on Tuesday after armed militants attacked a train carrying over 450 passengers in the country's southwestern Balochistan province.
It was not immediately clear how many people remained on board the train as security forces continued operations overnight.
Before seizing the train Tuesday afternoon, militants blew up the railway track, forcing it to a halt in a remote area.
"People began hiding under the seats in panic. The militants separated the men from the women. They allowed me and my family to go because I told them I'm a heart patient," 49-year-old Allahditta told AFP from a makeshift hospital at the train station in Mach.
"I was on the train with my father and brother when militants took us hostage. They let me go but they are still there," added a 32-year-old woman, who asked not to be named.
Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi said security forces had rescued over 155 people, adding that 27 "terrorists" had been killed.
Security sources told AFP that the "clearance operation is ongoing", after reporting heavy gunfire between militants and security forces.
The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group behind rising violence in the province which borders Afghanistan and Iran.
Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in Quetta, the capital of the province, earlier told AFP that "over 450 passengers onboard" had been taken hostage.
Some of the passengers were freed by the militants and walked for hours to reach the nearest railway station, from which they boarded other trains to Mach.
The driver of the train, a police officer and soldier were killed in the assault, according to paramedic Nazim Farooq and railway official Muhammad Aslam, both at Mach railway station.
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Pakistan Prime Minister meets with 300 freed train hostages and rescue troops
March 13 (UPI) -- Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went to Balochistan province Thursday to meet with 300 survivors and the troops who rescued them after a Baloch Liberation Army train attack that began Tuesday.
During the BLA attack and survivor rescue, 21 civilians and four Pakistani soldiers were killed. Thirty-three BLA fighters were killed as troops rescued train passengers who had been taken hostage.
According to a Pakistan military statement "confirmed intelligence" indicated the train attack was "orchestrated and directed by terrorist ring leaders operating from Afghanistan, who were in direct communication with the terrorists throughout the incident."
Pakistan's Army said there were about 440 passengers on the attacked train and at least 100 of them were security forces.
Related
Security officials believe that some of the BLA gunmen may have escaped from the train into the surrounding mountains taking some of the train passengers with them.
The Pakistani military is searching for passengers who might have escaped and/or were taken from the train by the attackers.
The BLA blew up the train tracks and attacked as the train entered a tunnel Tuesday, according to Pakistan authorities.
But a railway police officer onboard the train when it was attacked contradicted that account.
He told the BBC the train was in an open area and not in the tunnel when it was hit by the BLA.
That officer described fighting together with other officers against the BLA until their ammunition ran out.
"They [the BLA] were moving in front of us on the mountain and they were much more numerous than us, in the hundreds," the officer said speaking on condition of anonymity.
The passengers became hostages as the BLA threatened to kill them while demanding that Pakistan release people the BLA called political prisoners and activists.
Pakistan's military freed 190 of the hostages Wednesday.
The BLA is considered a terrorist group by Pakistan. It is using armed struggle to fight for Balochistan independence.
Hundreds of Pakistani troops and some helicopters were used in the battle to free the hostages. The train hijacking and rescue operation lasted for over 30 hours.
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Syria: Sunni jihadi boasts ‘There was once a city called Banyas, half Alawite, we killed them all, Allahu akbar’
What could possibly be the problem with bringing thousands or even millions of people with this mindset into Europe? Celebrate diversity!
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Democratic Republic of the Congo: Muslims attack farmers in their fields with machetes, murder nine people
Muslims “strike terror in the enemies of Allah” (Qur’an 8:60), and once again, government forces are unable or unwilling to stop them.
Islamic State-linked rebels in fresh attack in eastern Congo kill 9 villagers
by Justin Kabumba, Associated Press, March 9, 2025 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Islamic State-linked rebels attacked a village in conflict-battered eastern Congo killing at least nine villagers, a local official and residents said Sunday.
The Saturday attack in the village of Ngohi Vuyinga in North Kivu province’s Lubero territory also displaced dozens and several houses burned down, according to Samuel Kagheni, a local civil society leader.
Rebels with the Allied Democratic Forces, an IS affiliate in the region, attacked the villagers with guns and machetes while they were at their farms, Kagheni said….
“The peaceful population is still being killed, but there is no intervention on the government side,” said César Kambale, a youth leader of the nearby Vuyinga village.
“Is our army, the FARDC (Congolese armed forces) really leading offensives against this enemy? … Every day people are attacked, civilians are killed under the helpless eye of our FARDC,” he said.
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