Police and other officials informed Reuters that a bombing at a railway station in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, on Saturday killed at least 24 people and injured over 40 more.
Islamist militants in the northwest of the country and separatist ethnic militants in the southern province of Balochistan are increasing their attacks. A decades-old insurgency’s destabilization has raised security issues for projects attempting to access the province’s undeveloped resources.
The explosion at the railway station, which is usually busy in the early hours of the day, has killed 24 people so far, according to Mouzzam Jah Ansari, the inspector general of police for Balochistan.
According to his statement, “the target was army personnel from the Infantry School,” with numerous wounded individuals in critical condition.
An emailed statement to Reuters claimed responsibility for the attack from the separatist militant group known as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA).
The 15 million-person province of Balochistan, which shares borders with Iran to the west and Afghanistan to the north, is the target of the BLA’s independence movement. Among the various ethnic insurgent groups fighting the government, the BLA is the largest, claiming that it unfairly takes advantage of the province’s abundant mineral and gas resources.
Reuters was informed by hospital spokesman Dr. Wasim Baig that “44 injured people have been brought to civil hospitals so far.”
Muhammad Baloch, senior superintendent of police operations, believes the explosion was a suicide bomb, and further investigation is underway.
“The blast took place inside the railway station when the Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination,” stated Baloch.
At least 73 people died in August after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway tracks, and highways in the province of Balochistan.
Terrorists waging a decades-long insurgency to gain secession of the resource-rich southwestern province—which is home to significant China-led projects like a port and a gold and copper mine—launched the most extensive attacks in August in recent memory.
