Militants who attacked a passenger train in Pakistan killed 21 hostages, while security forces rescued more than 300 people and killed all 50 of the attackers, the military said on Wednesday.
Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif, an army spokesman, told local media that the incident, which began on Tuesday in the volatile province of Balochistan, also killed three soldiers who were guarding the route.
Security officials said troops had managed to free 346 hostages and the operation was complete.
Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti told a provincial assembly meeting that troops had killed all the insurgents involved in the unrest.
The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack on a train carrying 440 passengers through a tunnel in a remote part of Balochistan.
The group's spokesman, Jiand Baloch, said they were ready to release the passengers if the authorities agreed to release the detained militants.
So far, officials have not specified who exactly survived.
BLA regularly carries out attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians, including Chinese workers involved in multi-billion dollar projects in Balochistan linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said her country “will continue to firmly support Pakistan in its efforts to combat terrorism.”
Some relatives of the hostages expressed dissatisfaction with comments by Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi last year, who said the BLA was not a threat and “an ordinary police inspector could handle the situation”.
The train was travelling from Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar. Officials say the Jafer Express was partly in a tunnel when militants blew up the tracks, stopping the locomotive and nine carriages.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
