The News
A major rescue operation is underway in northern Pakistan after militants from the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army ambushed a train Tuesday, the latest in a string of terror attacks by the group.
More than 100 hostages, including 15 children, have been rescued from the Jaffar Express, which is still being held by the militia, according to the country’s interior ministry.
Some 200 hostages are yet to be rescued, with Reuters reporting that trapped passengers are seated next to militants wearing suicide vests.
The Balochistan Liberation Army — which seeks independence for a border region between Afghanistan and Iran — blew up railroad tracks Tuesday and “swiftly took control of the train,” the FT reported the group as saying.
It is seeking a prisoner exchange of activists it claims have been abducted by the military.
The region has suffered a spate of violence in recent years, with more than 2,500 civilians killed in terror attacks across Pakistan in 2024. Heavy-handed countermeasures against insurgent groups have exacerbated tensions between Islamabad and the region, The Financial Times reported.
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