At least 24 people were killed and around 70 others injured on Sunday after a bomb blast struck a shuttle train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families in the southwestern province of Balochistan, according to Pakistani officials cited by international media.
The explosion targeted the train near a railway track in the provincial capital, Quetta, as it was transporting passengers from the cantonment area to connect with the long-distance Jaffar Express train service.
According to Reuters, the blast derailed the locomotive and several coaches, with two carriages overturning after the explosion. Pakistani railway authorities said rescue teams and security forces were deployed immediately after the attack, while the area was sealed off as emergency operations continued.
The separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the bombing, describing it as a suicide attack in statements circulated to the media. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claim.
Security officials quoted by international media said an explosives-laden vehicle rammed one of the train’s bogies in a residential district, adding that some of those killed were residents living near the blast site. Images shared by local broadcasters showed charred vehicles, damaged apartment buildings and debris scattered across the railway area.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned what he described as a “heinous bomb explosion,” expressing condolences to the victims’ families and pledging continued support for the people of Balochistan.
The attack marks the latest in a series of deadly assaults targeting trains, infrastructure and security forces in Balochistan, a mineral-rich region bordering Iran and Afghanistan, where Pakistani authorities have intensified counterinsurgency operations in recent months.
In March 2025, BLA militants hijacked the Jaffar Express, taking hundreds of passengers hostage before Pakistani forces ended the standoff in a military operation that lasted more than a day. Pakistani authorities said at the time that 21 hostages, four soldiers and all 33 attackers were killed during the operation.
