Pakistan train hijack: Suicide bombers complicate rescue operation, sources say

(Reuters)

QUETTA, March 12 – Suicide bombers were seated next to some of the scores of passengers taken hostage after militants hijacked a train in southwest Pakistan, complicating rescue efforts, security sources said on Wednesday.

About 50 separatist insurgents blew up a railway track and lobbed rockets at the Jaffar Express on Tuesday, which had over 400 people on board, a security official said.

Hundreds of troops and teams in helicopters have mounted an operation to rescue hostages in the remote mountainous area where the train has been stopped. The government said it has so far rescued 155 passengers.

There was no official word on how many people remained in the captivity of the militants. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic armed group that claimed responsibility for the attack, said on Tuesday it was holding 214 people hostage.

“People were attacked … passengers were injured and some passengers died,” said Muhammad Ashraf, who was on the train.

The train was trapped in a tunnel and the driver was killed after sustaining serious injuries, police and railway officials said.