Islamabad, Mar 12 (EFE).- Pakistani security forces have so far managed to rescue 190 engers who had been taken hostage by Baloch insurgents, who hijacked a train in the conflict-ridden province of Balochistan, in southwestern Pakistan, military sources said Wednesday.
“So far 190 engers have been rescued from terrorists. 30 terrorists have been killed. Extreme caution is being exercised in the operation due to the presence of women and children with suicide bombers. Security forces continue operation to eliminate remaining terrorists,” said anonymous sources involved in the rescue operation.
They added that 30 insurgents have been killed so far in the operation that security forces began shortly after the train hijacking to free the 400 engers on board.
The Jaffar Express enger train was attacked in a remote area around 1:30 pm on Tuesday while en route between the cities of Quetta in Balochistan province and Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This journey takes approximately 30 hours.
The attack was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which said in a statement on Tuesday night that it had killed 30 of the security forces and taken 214 hostages.
The insurgent group said initially that it had released all women, children, and people of Balochistan origin, and taken dozens of security force personnel traveling on the train hostage.
It also threatened to execute them if the security forces intervened, after which they gave the government a 48-hour ultimatum to release Baloch political prisoners, forcibly disappeared persons, and national resistance activists.
Military sources, however, reported that the insurgents used women and children as shields for protection.
The first freed engers arrived on Tuesday night at the Mach train station, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) from the site of the incident, aboard a special train chartered by the authorities.
The BLA, which seeks independence for the Baloch people, has waged a decades-long insurgency, with attacks targeting Pakistani security forces and Chinese investments in the region. EFE
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