Almost 350 hostages were reportedly rescued and 27 hostages were killed after Baloch Liberation Army terrorists hijacked a train in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Tuesday.
A security source told CNN that almost 350 hostages had been rescued as of Wednesday following a standoff between the Baloch Liberation Army terrorists and Pakistan’s military in the province of Balochistan. The outlet noted that the Baloch Liberation Army, which was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization in 2019 by the U.S. State Department, claimed responsibility for hijacking a train and taking hundreds of individuals as hostages.
According to CNN, the anonymous security source claimed that 27 of the hostages taken by the Baloch Liberation Army were killed, along with one Pakistani soldier. The security source also confirmed that at least 35 of the Baloch Liberation Army terrorists were killed in Pakistan’s rescue operation.
CNN cited anonymous officials who confirmed that roughly 450 passengers were on the Jaffer Express train and were traveling from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, to Peshawar. Officials said that during the early portion of the train’s journey through the region, Baloch Liberation Army terrorists deployed “intense gunfire” against the train as it was passing through a tunnel.
Anonymous security sources told CNN that Pakistan’s military launched an operation to confront the terrorists and rescue the hostages taken by the Baloch Liberation Army. The security sources claimed that the terrorists used “women and children as shields” during Tuesday’s standoff.
In a statement obtained by CNN following Tuesday’s train hijacking, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pledged to “continue to fight against the monster of terrorism until it is completely eradicated from the country.” The prime minister claimed that the “terrorists’ targeting of innocent passengers during the peaceful and blessed month of Ramadan is a clear reflection that these terrorists have no connection with the religion of Islam, Pakistan and Balochistan.”
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Sharif described Tuesday’s train hijacking as a “heinous terrorist attack” and noted that the whole nation is “deeply shocked by this heinous act and is saddened by the loss of innocent lives.” The prime minister added, “Such cowardly acts cannot shake Pakistan’s resolve for peace.”
A video shared on social media shows the terrorists reportedly blowing up a train track prior to taking hundreds of prisoners hostage on Tuesday. Later in the video, the hostages can be seen in large groups outside the Pakistani train.
