Pakistani army frees hostages, kills all militants in train siege

SIBI, Pakistan: Pakistani security forces killed all militants in an exchange of gunfire with the insurgents who have been holding a train and its passengers hostage since Tuesday in southwestern Balochistan province.

All the train passengers taken hostage by the militants have been freed, an army official told AFP on Wednesday, adding that 28 soldiers were killed in the siege.

“346 hostages were freed and over 30 terrorists were killed during the operation,” the army official told AFP, adding that 27 off-duty soldiers who were passengers on the train were killed by militants, and one soldier killed during the operation.

Authorities traded fire with the militants during the rescue efforts, the officials said, adding that 17 people were injured. The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) took responsibility for the attack according to Pakistani media.

The operation took time as security forces faced militants wearing suicide vests and standing close to the passengers, said the officials.

Militants from separatist groups like BLA have been attacking security forces in mineral-rich Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan, for decades but the frequency has increased in the past few years.

Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies, said seizing a passenger train appears to be a new strategy for the BLA, which has also previously hit infrastructure. “This is a tactic to terrorise both common people and security apparatus,” Gul said. “They have scaled the ladder.”

The attack comes as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tries to rebuild an anaemic economy and lure investment, while struggling to control violence from militants.

Militants had targeted a convoy of Chinese workers at Port Qasim Electric Power Co., near Karachi’s airport last year. Two Chinese nationals died in the incident.

China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning strongly condemned the latest attack during a regular press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.