All the Baloch insurgents who hijacked a train and held 212 passengers hostage in Pakistan’s Balochistan have been killed, and the captives have been released after an hours-long intense military operation, the Pakistan Army said on Wednesday evening.
Twenty-one passengers and four paramilitary soldiers were killed by militants while the security forces killed all 33 militants present at the scene, the Army spokesman told local media.
“The armed forces successfully concluded the operation in the (Wednesday) evening by killing all terrorists and rescuing all passengers safely,” Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif said.
The Army’s statement comes shortly after the insurgents claimed to have killed 50 hostages and threatened to execute more if the military operation does not cease.
The Jaffar Express, carrying around 500 passengers in nine coaches, was targeted with explosives, derailed, and hijacked by militants near the remote mountainous terrain of Gudalar and Piru Kunri, about 160 km from Quetta, while en route to Peshawar.
A multi-pronged assault, including an aerial offensive, was launched against the insurgents following the train attack.
The Chief Minister of Balochistan province, Sarfraz Bugti, informed the provincial assembly that “we people have also been martyred, but we will share details later”.
Security officials who spoke to news agency AP said over 300 hostages were rescued as the operation had concluded.
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