Pakistan Train Bombing in Quetta Kills at Least 19

Pakistan train bombing in Quetta killed at least 19 people and left more than 70 others injured on Sunday, officials said. The explosion happened near a railway line as a passenger train moved through the southwestern Pakistani city. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Pakistan train bombing derails carriages in Quetta

A suicide attacker detonated a vehicle packed with explosives near the track, according to AP. The blast was strong enough to throw two train carriages off the rails; both overturned and caught fire.

Footage shared online showed thick black smoke rising after the Quetta train explosion. The attack took place in an area where security forces are normally stationed.

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Witnesses said several nearby buildings were badly damaged. Images posted on social media also showed more than a dozen vehicles along the road with visible damage.

Hospitals in Quetta received many of the wounded after the blast. Doctors said 20 people were in critical condition. Three security officials told The Associated Press that at least 16 bodies had been taken to hospitals. They spoke on condition of anonymity so they could speak to the media.

Baloch Liberation Army claims Balochistan railway attack

The banned Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, said in a statement sent to journalists that it was responsible for the Balochistan railway attack. The group, which seeks independence from Pakistan’s central government, said it had targeted a train carrying security personnel.

Quetta is the capital of Balochistan, a province affected by a long-running insurgency. The oil- and mineral-rich region has seen repeated attacks on security forces, government sites and civilians, both inside the province and elsewhere in Pakistan; Chatham House has also described the Balochistan insurgency as a persistent security issue linked to attacks on rail transport.

Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan provincial government, condemned the passenger train attack.

“We strongly condemn the targeting of innocent civilians and are deeply saddened by the loss of precious human lives. Terrorist elements deserve no leniency,” he said.

Medical emergency declared after Quetta railway track explosion

Rind said hospitals in Quetta had been placed under a medical emergency after the Quetta railway track explosion. He also said an investigation had been launched.

Pakistani officials have previously said the insurgency has been brought under control. Still, violence in Balochistan has continued.

In 2024, at least 26 people, including soldiers, were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a railway station in Balochistan, as CBC News noted in its report on the latest attack.

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