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Armed militants in Pakistan’s Balochistan region have attacked a train carrying more than 400 <\/b>passengers and taken a number of them hostage, military sources told the BBC on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) fired at the Jaffar Express Train as it travelled from Quetta to Peshawar. <\/p>\n
The separatist group said it had bombed the track before storming the train in the remote Sibi district, claiming the train was under its control.<\/p>\n
At least 16 militants have been killed and 104 passengers rescued as of Wednesday morning, local media reported. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Among those rescued are 17 injured passengers, who have been hospitalised for treatment.<\/p>\n
The militants had threatened to kill hostages if authorities did not release Baloch political prisoners within 48 hours, according to local reports.<\/p>\n
The rescue operation is ongoing.<\/p>\n
There were reports of “intense firing” at the train, a Balochistan government spokesman told local newspaper Dawn on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
A senior police official said it “remains stuck just before a tunnel surrounded by mountains”, AFP news agency reports. <\/p>\n
A senior army official confirmed to the BBC that there were more than 100 army personnel travelling from Quetta on the train.<\/p>\n
The Pakistani authorities – as well as several Western countries, including the UK and US – have designated the BLA as a terrorist organisation.<\/p>\n
It has waged a decades-long insurgency to gain independence and has launched numerous deadly attacks, often targeting police stations, railway lines and highways. <\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the group warned of “severe consequences” if an attempt was made to rescue those it is holding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“I can’t find the words to describe how we managed to escape. It was terrifying,” Muhammad Bilal, one of the freed hostages, told AFP news agency.<\/p>\n
Allahditta, another passenger, said he was allowed to go because of his heart condition. The 49-year-old recalled how people “began hiding under the seats in panic” when the attackers stormed the train.<\/p>\n
A local railway official in Quetta <\/b>earlier told the BBC that a group of 80 passengers – 11 children, 26 women and 43 men – had managed to disembark the train and walk to the nearest railway station, Panir.<\/p>\n
The official said the group was made up of locals from the province of Balochistan.<\/p>\n
One man, whose brother-in-law was still being held on the train, described an agonising wait. He said he had tried to drive to the area, but many of the roads were closed.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, anxious families of passengers were trying to get information <\/b>about their loved ones <\/b>from the counter at Quetta railway station.<\/p>\n
The son of one passenger, Muhammad Ashraf, who left Quetta for Lahore on Tuesday morning, told BBC Urdu he had not been able to contact his father. <\/p>\n
Another relative said he was “frantic with worry” about his cousin and her small child, who were travelling from Quetta to Multan to pick up a family member.<\/p>\n
“No one is telling me what’s happening or if they’re safe,” Imran Khan told Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n
Officials say they are yet to communicate with anyone on the train. <\/p>\n
The area has no internet and mobile network coverage, officials told the BBC. <\/p>\n
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province and the richest in terms of natural resources, but it is the least developed. <\/p>\n
Additional reporting by Usman Zahid and BBC Urdu<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n