Pakistan train hijack sees 450 held hostage as rebels open fire in Balochistan 'killing 6'

By Alice Scarsi, World News Editor

The Jaffar Express train (Image: Samaa.tv)

Gunmen members of a separatist group have taken more than 450 train passengers hostage and injured the train driver as they carried out an attack on Tuesday in the southwestern province of Balochistan in Pakistan, an official said. The incident happened on a Jaffar Express train as it was travelling from Quetta, in Balochistan, to Peshawar, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

A senior railway government official in Balochistan capital Quetta, Muhammad Kashif, told AFP: "Over 450 passengers onboard are being held hostage by gunmen." The attack was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which in a statement said to have taken a number of hostages, and to have killed six security personnel during the commotion. It claimed: "The Baloch Liberation Army has carried out a meticulously planned operation in Mashkaf, Dhadar, Bolan, where our freedom fighters have blown up the railway track, forcing the Jaffar Express to come to a halt. 

"The fighters swiftly took control of the train, holding all passengers hostage." 

The group, which claimed to have opened fire at the train to take control of it, has also warned it will execute passengers if a military operation is conducted against its militants. 

It said: "This operation is being conducted jointly by the Majeed Brigade, STOS, and Fateh Squad —specialized units of the BLA. Any military incursion will be met with an equally forceful response."

The local government in Balochistan said emergency forces and security forces were dispatched to the site and are attempting to track down the militants. As the train driver is feared to be seriously injured following the attack, an emergency relief team was sent to assist them, according to the Express Tribune.

More trains have also been sent to the site for rescue efforts, News18 reports.