QUETTA, Pakistan — An explosive device detonated alongside railroad tracks in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Sunday as a passenger train traveled through the area, injuring more than 30 people, according to local authorities.
Video footage posted online showed the blast’s impact caused two train cars to flip over and ignite, creating dense black smoke that billowed into the sky.
The bombing occurred in a location where security personnel are typically positioned, severely damaging multiple nearby structures and destroying over a dozen parked cars along the street, witnesses and social media images revealed.
Medical staff at area hospitals reported treating more than 30 injured victims, with several patients in critical condition.
Balochistan government official Babar Yousafzai confirmed that authorities were continuing their investigation into the explosion but declined to provide additional information.
Quetta serves as the provincial capital of Balochistan, a region plagued by ongoing insurgent activity.
The province, rich in oil and mineral resources, has experienced a prolonged low-intensity insurgency led by separatist organizations like the banned Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, which seeks independence from Pakistan’s federal government. These militant groups regularly attack security personnel, government facilities and civilians throughout the province and other parts of the nation.
While no organization has yet taken credit for Sunday’s bombing, investigators will likely examine the BLA’s involvement, as the group has accepted responsibility for comparable incidents previously.
Despite Pakistani officials’ claims of successfully suppressing the insurgency, attacks in Balochistan continue to occur.
Earlier in 2024, a suicide bombing at a Balochistan railway station claimed at least 26 lives, including military personnel.
