Bolan train hijack: 27 terrorists killed

Quetta: Security forces have successfully freed at least 155 hostages and eliminated 27 terrorists who had hijacked the Jaffar Express in Balochistan's Bolan district, pledging to continue the operation until the last militant is defeated.

The train, carrying 400 passengers in nine bogies, was en route from Quetta to Peshawar on Tuesday when an unknown number of terrorists took passengers hostage, security forces said.

Security sources said that forces were continuing the operation to rescue the remaining hostages. They said that terrorists, some of them wearing suicide jackets, were using passengers as human shields, security sources revealed.

Due to the presence of hostages, security forces are proceeding with extreme caution, the sources added.

The railway journey from Quetta to Peshawar, which takes more than 30 hours to complete, includes various stops as it passes through at least 11 cities including Sibi, Jacobabad, Rohri, Khanpur, Bahawalpur, Khanewal, Sahiwal,



Lahore, Gujranwala and Islamabad.

Earlier, railway officials reported that 57 rescued passengers from the Jaffar Express were transported to Quetta in the early hours of Wednesday, while 23 remained in Machh.

After security forces launched the operation on Tuesday, the militants split into small groups, security sources said. Seventeen injured passengers were taken to a nearby hospital for urgent medical treatment.

Navigating the difficult terrain, security forces cordoned off the area upon receiving word of the attack, they said, adding that despite the challenging route, forces reached the scene in the Mushqaf area of the Bolan district of Balochistan to initiate the operation.

Sources further revealed that the attackers were using satellite phones to communicate with international handlers, including a mastermind in Afghanistan, and were using women and children as human shields, forcing extreme caution in the operation.