All militants involved in train hijacking in SW Pakistan killed: Military sources

KARACHI, Pakistan

All the militants involved in a train hijacking in southwest Pakistan have been killed as the military operation to free the hostages entered its last phase, military sources said on Wednesday.

The military will release more details "soon" as "a large number" of hostages, including women and children, have been freed, sources said.

The number of hostages killed by militants is being ascertained, they added.

Earlier, military sources said that 190 hostages were freed and 30 militants were killed during the security operation that continued on Wednesday to free passengers held hostage following an ambush on a train in Balochistan province.

Militants loyal to the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed to have taken some 214 passengers hostage after attacking a train in a hilly area of the remote Bolan district on Tuesday.

Unconfirmed reports said that at least 10 passengers have been killed in the ambush. There was no official word on deaths, but military sources said that some 37 injured people have been transported to different hospitals.

Some 70 to 80 heavily-armed BLA militants blew up a railway track and hijacked Jaffar Express with 400-500 passengers on board just outside a tunnel in Bolan, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry told local broadcaster Geo News.

According to security sources, several militants wearing explosive-laden jackets have taken positions near the hostages, compelling the troops to remain "extra careful" in carrying out the operation.

The government has suspended rail service to and from Balochistan for the next three days following the brazen 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 claim was forcibly incorporated into Pakistan following the end of British colonial rule in united India in 1947.