FC personnel among 24 killed in Pakistan train blast claimed by Baloch militants
Last updated: May 24, 2026 | 11:53
Police and volunteers work at the site, after a blast near a railway track in Quetta, Balochistan province, on Sunday. Reuters
Police officers and local residents examine damages at the site of bomb explosion, in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sunday. AP
Firefighters work to extinguish the burning cars at the site of bomb explosion in Quetta. AP
A bomb blast hit a shuttle train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Sunday, officials said, in the latest major attack claimed by separatist militants.
The explosion killed at least 24 people, including three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, and injured 70 others, according to three provincial government and security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media.
The attack, which killed at least 24 people and injured more than 70, was the latest in a series of major strikes on trains, security forces and infrastructure in the mineral-rich province that borders Iran and Afghanistan, where Pakistan has launched counterinsurgency operations after some of the deadliest violence in years.
The separatist militant group Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, said in a statement to media that it carried out the attack and described it as a suicide bombing. Reuters could not independently verify the claim.
Police officers and volunteers carry an injured victim of bomb explosion upon arrival at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sunday. AP
The shuttle train was carrying passengers from Quetta's cantonment area to connect with the Jaffar Express long-distance train when the blast struck near a railway track in the provincial capital, Pakistan's railways ministry said in a statement.
A man holds a child as he with others walk away from burning cars at the site of bomb explosion in Quetta. AP
The explosion derailed the engine and three coaches, while two coaches overturned, the ministry said, adding that security forces had cordoned off the area and rescue operations were under way.
A security official said an explosives-laden vehicle hit one of the train's bogies in a residential area, and that some of those killed were residents of a nearby apartment building.
A crane lifts a carriage of a train at the site after an explosion that targeted a train in Quetta on Sunday. AFP
Images from the scene showed burnt-out vehicles, damaged residential buildings, twisted metal and debris scattered near the railway track, with smoke rising from the wreckage.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif condemned what he called a "heinous bomb explosion" in a post on social media website X. He expressed condolences for the victims' families and said the nation stood with the people of Balochistan.
Police officers and volunteers recover an injured person from an overturned train coach on a railway track at the site of a bomb explosion in Quetta. AP
In March 2025, BLA militants hijacked the Jaffar Express train, taking hundreds hostage before a military operation ended the day-long standoff. The military said 21 hostages, four troops and all 33 attackers were killed.
Earlier this year, Pakistani forces killed 145 militants in a 40-hour operation after coordinated attacks across Balochistan left nearly 50 people dead, provincial officials said.
