Bomb Blast on Pakistan Shuttle Train Kills at Least 24

A bomb blast struck a shuttle train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families in Balochistan province on Sunday, killing at least 24 people and injuring more than 70. Three provincial government and security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the casualty figures. The explosion occurred near a railway track in the provincial capital of Quetta.

The shuttle train was traveling from Quetta's cantonment area to connect with the Jaffar Express when the blast hit. Pakistan's railways ministry said the explosion derailed the engine and three coaches while two other coaches overturned. A security official said an explosives-laden vehicle struck one of the train's bogies in a residential area.

Some of those killed were residents of a nearby apartment building. Images from the scene showed burnt-out vehicles, damaged residential buildings, twisted metal, and debris scattered near the track, with smoke rising from the wreckage.

A separatist militant group said in a statement to media that it carried out the attack and described it as a suicide bombing. Reuters could not independently verify the claim. Security forces cordoned off the area and rescue operations were under way, the railways ministry said.

and Context Prime Minister Shehbaz

Sharif condemned the explosion in a post on X and expressed condolences to the victims' families. The attack is the latest in a series of major strikes on trains, security forces, and infrastructure in the mineral-rich province that borders Iran and Afghanistan.

In March 2025, militants hijacked the Jaffar Express train, taking hundreds hostage before a military operation ended the day-long standoff. The military said 21 hostages, four troops, and all 33 attackers were killed. Earlier this year, Pakistani forces killed 145 militants in a 40-hour operation after coordinated attacks across Balochistan left nearly 50 people dead, provincial officials said.