Militants fire at train in SW Pakistan, claim to have taken 100 passengers hostage
Baku, March 11, AZERTAC
A gun battle is underway between security forces and heavily armed militants who have claimed to have taken 100 passengers hostage after attacking a train in southwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, Anadolu Agency reported.
Outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), in a statement to local media, claimed responsibility for the brazen attack.
It claimed its militants have taken more than 100 passengers, including security personnel, hostage.
The incident occurred in a hilly area of remote Bolan district in southwestern Balochistan province when a group of militants detonated bombs on the railway track and opened fire on the train, injuring the driver critically, an official confirmed.
Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan government told reporters that additional troops have been dispatched to the site, where security forces are already engaged in a gun battle with the attackers.
Unconfirmed reports suggested that there were several casualties in the attack.
The BLA and some other groups have long been involved in attacks on security forces and citizens from other provinces.
They have been fighting for the "liberation" of Balochistan, which they contend was forcibly incorporated into Pakistan following the end of British colonial rule in united India in 1947.
