A devastating suicide bomb attack targeted a passenger shuttle train near the Chaman Phatak area in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, killing at least 30 people and injuring over 100 others, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
The attack occurred shortly after 8:00 AM on Sunday as the train, traveling from the Quetta Cantonment area, was carrying security personnel and their families to connect with the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express for the upcoming Eid holidays. According to initial investigations, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle directly into one of the train’s moving carriages.
The immense force of the blast derailed the locomotive and three passenger coaches, causing two of the carriages to overturn and catch fire. Thick black smoke filled the air as the explosion ripped through the residential area, shattering the windows of nearby buildings and destroying more than a dozen parked vehicles along the road.
The outlawed separatist militant organization, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), quickly claimed responsibility for the targeted operation, confirming that they deliberately chose a train transporting security forces.
Emergency rescue operations were deployed immediately, and public hospitals across Quetta declared a state of emergency to handle the influx of victims. Among the casualties were three Frontier Corps personnel and a local family of four. Medical officials warned that the death toll could rise, noting that at least 20 of the injured passengers remain in critical condition.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari both strongly condemned the bombing, calling it a "cowardly act of terrorism" that would not weaken the country's national resolve. Provincial Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti vowed that authorities would relentlessly hunt down the perpetrators, facilitators, and masterminds of the attack.
The mineral-rich province of Balochistan has long faced a low-level insurgency by separatist groups who accuse the central government of exploiting local resources. This latest train bombing marks a sharp escalation in the region, following a string of major attacks against public transport and infrastructure, including a deadly railway station bombing in late 2024 and a massive train hijacking in 2025.
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