Pakistan
Separatists attack train station: 24 dead in explosion
Things are simmering in the troubled Balochistan province in Pakistan: separatists have attacked a train station with an explosive device. The exact circumstances are still unclear.
According to police and rescue workers, at least 24 people were killed in an explosion at a train station in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province. Dozens more were taken to a local hospital with injuries, police officials said Saturday. The explosion occurred around 8:45 a.m. local time (04:45 CET) in the provincial capital Quetta while passengers were waiting on the platform.
Cause of explosion in Pakistan still unclear
In a statement, the separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the explosion. This was therefore aimed at “a unit of the Pakistan Army that was returning to Punjab via the train station after training at the infantry school.”
According to police, it was not immediately clear what caused the explosion. “At first it looked like an explosive device had been planted in an abandoned piece of luggage, but now we believe it was a suicide attack,” a local police official told reporters.
Balochistan lies in southwest Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan and Iran and is the poorest province in the country. Separatist groups have been fighting the security forces there for decades. Islamist groups such as the Pakistani Taliban are also active there. Armed and deadly attacks occur regularly.
The BLA is the most active armed separatist movement in the resource-rich region. The militia has increased its attacks on security forces and Pakistanis from neighboring provinces in recent years.
AFP
pgo
Source: Stern
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