Pakistan bomb blast: At least 24 killed in Quetta train station bomb blast
At least 24 people have been killed and more than 40 injured in a bomb blast at a railway station in Quetta in southwest Pakistan, police say.
Pakistan is grappling with a surge in strikes by separatist ethnic militants in the south and Islamist militants in its northwest.
Balochistan Inspector General of Police Mouzzam Jah Ansari said at least 24 people had been killed, with many of the injured in a critical condition.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“The target was army personnel from the Infantry School,” he said.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement emailed to Reuters.
The group seeks independence for Balochistan, a province of about 15 million people that borders Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west.
The group is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups battling the government, saying it unfairly exploits the province’s rich gas and mineral resources.
Civil hospital spokesman Dr Wasim Baig said the hospital was treating 44 people injured in the blast.
Police Senior Superintendent Muhammad Baloch said the blast was believed to have been a suicide bomb.
“The blast took place inside the railway station when the Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination,” Baloch said.
In August, at least 73 people were killed in Balochistan province after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways.
The assaults in August were the most widespread in years by militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the resource-rich southwest province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine.
