Attack on train carrying soldiers Many dead and injured in explosion in Pakistan
A powerful explosion has hit a passenger train in western Pakistan, killing many people. The death toll in the incident in the troubled province of Baluchistan varies. A police spokesman told the German Press Agency that 30 people were killed and more than 100 injured.
24.05.2026, 22:40
SDA
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- Up to 30 people are believed to have been killed in an attack on a train carrying soldiers in Pakistan.
- More than 100 people are said to have been injured.
- Pictures from the scene of the attack showed a derailed and badly damaged train carriage.
The Pakistani newspaper "Dawn" wrote in the evening, citing a preliminary report by the provincial government, that at least 14 people were killed and 20 injured as a result of a suicide attack that hit the train.
A subdivision of the separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which is fighting for the independence of Balochistan province, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms in a post on X. He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
Violence on the rise in Pakistan - attacks on Chinese projects
The incident took place in Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan, while the train was already in motion.
A state of emergency has been declared in all public and private hospitals in the city, said a spokesman for the provincial government. At least three carriages and the locomotive were derailed by the explosion. Security forces have cordoned off the area and rescue operations are underway, he further said. The Dawn report said three army personnel were among the casualties.
Terrorist attacks in Pakistan often target state security forces as an expression of the fight against the state. Baluchistan is considered the poorest province of the nuclear power. Separatists have been fighting for independence here since shortly after the founding of Pakistan.
Violence has increased significantly in Pakistan in recent times. Last year, for example, a train carrying hundreds of security forces and their families was hijacked by the banned BLA. At least two dozen passengers and soldiers were killed in a day-long battle to free the hostages. The BLA is the largest of several militant groups fighting for Baluchistan's independence from Pakistan. The group is also behind acts of violence directed against billion-dollar Chinese infrastructure projects.