All the train passengers taken hostage by rebels in southwestern Pakistan have been freed, an army official told AFP on Wednesday, adding that 28 soldiers were killed in the siege.
“346 hostages were freed and over 30 terrorists were killed during the operation,” an army official told AFP, adding that 27 off-duty soldiers who were passengers on the train were killed by militants, and one soldier was killed during the operation.
More than 450 passengers were on board when a rebel group captured the train in a remote frontier district of Balochistan province on Tuesday afternoon.
The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which released a video of an explosion on the track, followed by dozens of gunmen emerging from hiding places in the mountains and storming onto the carriages.
The BLA has staged a series of recent attacks against security forces and ethnic groups from outside the province who they accuse of benefiting from the region’s wealth.
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