People walk along the railway tracks next to wrecked carriages at the scene of a deadly train blast in Quetta, Pakistan, on Sunday. Photo by Fayyaz Ahmed/EPA
A suicide bombing near train tracks in southwestern Pakistan killed at least 14 people Sunday, local officials said.
Officials in the Balochistan provincial government said the vehicle-borne suicide bombing targeted a shuttle train in Quetta, Dawn News reported.
“This cowardly act of terrorism is not only an attack on innocent human lives but also a heinous attempt to undermine peace, stability and normal civic life in Balochistan,” a government statement said.
The New York Times reported the shuttle train was carrying some passengers from a military base to a railway station in Quetta. Muhammad Hanif Abbasi, Pakistan’s railway minister, said the blast overturned two carriages on the train.
Among the dead were three members of Pakistan’s paramilitary forces, along with passengers, bystanders and people living in residences near the site of the attack.
“Tragically, an entire family of four — father, mother, son and daughter — lost their lives in this heartbreaking incident, leaving the entire province in mourning,” the government statement said.
This region of Pakistan is home to multiple separatist organizations seeking to have their own government independent of the country. The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack, The Times reported.
