BLACK Militants Hijack Train In Pakistan: 155 Passengers Rescued, Release Operation Still Ongoing

JAKARTA - The attackers who wore suicide bombings sat next to the passengers held hostage after militants seized control of the train in southwest Pakistan, sources said on Wednesday, complicating rescue efforts the day after the country's first hijacking.

Separatist militants blew up railroad tracks and opened fire on Jaffar Express on Tuesday as the train drove from Quetta, the capital of Blochistan, to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

Pakistani forces have rescued 155 passengers, and the government says security operations are underway to release dozens of people who are still being held hostage, without specifying the exact number.

The Bloch Liberation Army (BLA), an armed ethnic group, claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to start executing hostages except for political prisoners Bloch, activists, and missing persons who were said to have been kidnapped by the military in 48 hours.

BLA said on Tuesday it took 214 people hostage. A security source told Reuters there were 425 passengers on the train when attacked.

The number of militants involved in the attack is unclear. Security sources said on Wednesday, so far 27 people had died.

BLA is the largest ethnic armed group of several groups fighting the Pakistani government in the mineral-rich Province of Blochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

Some of those rescued were taken to Quetta on Wednesday morning, escorted by security forces, where their relatives had been waiting for them.

"People were attacked, passengers were injured and several passengers died," said Muhammad Ashraf, who was on the train.

Several witnesses interviewed by Geo News said they were asked by security personnel to keep their spirits up when gunfire occurs.

Visuals from broadcasters showed those rescued meeting and hugging relatives and friends.

A woman, who said her son was among the passengers who were still being held hostage, confronted provincial minister Mir Zahoor Buledi when she visited the passengers who were released.

"If you can't protect the train, then you shouldn't run it. Please, bring back my son," he said.

Pakistan Railways has suspended all operations from the provinces of Tehran and Sindh to Blochistan until security agencies ensure the area is safe, local media reported on Wednesday.

Buledi told reporters that the government was trying to improve the security situation in the region.