Pakistan train hijack: BLA claims it killed 20 soldiers, took 182 hostages | 10 points

Pakistan train hijack: BLA said in a statement gunmen bombed the railway track before storming aboard the train.

Armed militants belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) stormed a train in Pakistan's restive mountainous region on Tuesday, taking scores of passengers hostage. The BLA, which seeks independence for the Balochistan province bordering both Afghanistan and Iran, said it had killed 20 soldiers and shot down a drone, reported Reuters.

Pakistan train hijack: There are 17 tunnels in the area, and the train was stopped by armed militants in Tunnel number 8. (File photo)

The group has claimed to have taken 182 hostages. "Civilian passengers, particularly women, children, the elderly, and Baloch citizens, have been released safely and given a secure route," it said in a statement.

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Here are 10 points on the Pakistan train attack:

1. BLA has claimed it seized control of the train by derailing it. The militant group has warned if the Pakistan military intervened, “all hostages will be executed”.
2. Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind told PTI that there were reports of intense firing inside Jaffar Express, which was heading from Quetta to Peshawar.
3. There are 17 tunnels in the area, and the train was stopped by armed militants in tunnel number 8. The speeds of trains are often slow inside these tunnels.
4. Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident, saying: “The beasts who fire on innocent passengers do not deserve any concessions.” The government has imposed an emergency at Sibi hospital.
5. Muhammad Kashif, a senior railway government official in Quetta, the capital of the province, told AFP that "over 450 passengers onboard are being held hostage by gunmen, including women and children".
6. BLA said in a statement that gunmen bombed the railway track before storming aboard the train. "The militants swiftly took control of the train and have taken all passengers hostage," said the statement released to the media. It also warned of "severe consequences" if the authorities attempted to rescue the hostages.
7. Mukhtar Ahmed, a police official who looks after railway security in Quetta, told Bloomberg that the train was stopped at a remote place with a difficult, rocky train. "The train has been stopped due to firing. It’s a difficult, rocky terrain. The only access to the spot is by walking,” he said.
8. The train had left Quetta for Peshawar, in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – a more than 30-hour journey – at around 9:00 am.
9. After the attack, the train came to a stop in a remote area in the Bolan district.
10. Balochistan has been an insurgent hotbed. Baloch nationalist militants demand a bigger share of the province’s resources.

With inputs from agencies