450 people taken hostage in deadly train siege in Pakistan

Hundreds of passengers have become hostages after militants used explosives to hold up a train in Pakistan.

About 450 train passengers were taken hostage and three killed after militants set off explosions on a railway track in southwestern Pakistan.

The train in a remote area of Balochistan remains held up by rebel forces but more than 155 hostages have now been freed.

Pakistani security sources told AFP that the “clearance operation is ongoing” and “27 terrorists have been eliminated”.

Security sources said the “terrorists have positioned suicide bombers right next to innocent hostage passengers”.

Paramedics treat an injured passenger at the Mach railway station, which has been turned into a makeshift hospital. Picture: Banaras Khan / AFP

The assault was immediately claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group behind rising violence in the province which borders Afghanistan and Iran.

The mountainous region makes it easier for militants to have hideouts and plan attacks.

Freed hostages said they walked for hours through the mountainous terrain to reach safety, forced to leave behind relatives from whom they were separated.

“I can’t find the words to describe how we managed to escape. It was terrifying,” Muhammad Bilal said.

Mr Bilal had been travelling with his mother on the Jafar Express train when it was caught in the explosive crossfire, leaving at least three dead, according to a railway official.

A train station in the town of Mach has been transformed into a makeshift hospital to treat the wounded.

To get there, survivors walked through rugged terrain to the nearest train station and travelled to Mach, about 200 kilometres from the Iran border.

The first trains carrying survivors arrived late on Tuesday evening to be met by paramilitary forces and doctors.

“I am treating two (police) officers, one was shot five times, while the other was wounded in his knee,” paramedic Qazim Farooq said.

Freed train passengers following a security operation against armed militants who ambushed the train in Balochistan. Picture: Banaras Khan / AFP

More than 100 hostages have been freed but hundreds more are still being held in the deadly siege. Picture: Banaras Khan / AFP

Speaking from Mach, passenger Allahditta, 49, explained he had heard an explosion followed by gunfire as militants boarded the train.

“People began hiding under the seats in panic,” he said.

“The militants separated the men from the women. They allowed me and my family to go because I told them I’m a heart patient.”

It is currently the holy month of Ramadan, where observant Muslims consume no food or drink in daylight hours.

“We walked for a long time through the mountains to reach the nearest station. I haven’t eaten since I began fasting this morning, but I still can’t bring myself to eat,” Allahditta added.

Soldiers secure Mach railway station after Pakistani security forces freed some passengers. Picture: Banaras Khan / AFP

One passenger described gunmen sorting through identity cards to confirm who was from outside of the province, similar to a spate of recent attacks carried out by the BLA.

“They came and checked IDs and service cards and shot two soldiers in front of me and took the other four to, I don’t know where,” said one passenger who asked not to be named after walking four hours to the nearest train station.

“They checked IDs and those who were Punjabis were taken away by the terrorists.”

The BLA claim the region’s natural resources are being exploited by outsiders and has increased attacks targeting Pakistanis from other regions.

In a statement, the BLA said gunmen bombed the railway track before storming aboard the train.

“The militants swiftly took control of the train and have taken all passengers hostage,” said the statement released to media.

The incident happened around 1pm in rural Sibi district, near to a city station where the train had been due to stop. The train had left Quetta for Peshawar, in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – a more than 30-hour journey – at around 9am.

The BLA has launched larger scale attacks in recent months, including holding a motorway overnight and identifying travellers from outside the province and shooting them dead.

BLA militants also killed seven Punjabi travellers in February after they were ordered off a bus.

In November, the BLA claimed responsibility for a bombing at Quetta’s main railway station that killed 26 people, including 14 soldiers.