Death toll from a suspected suicide bombing targeting a train in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday jumped to 28 as another five injured succumbed to their wounds at local hospitals, police and health sources told Anadolu.
The number of injured also soared to 90, several of them critically.
According to the sources, the suicide bomber, believed to have acted alone, rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the train also carrying military personnel in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.
The blast occurred along the railway track as the train headed toward the city’s cantonment area.
Officials said the explosion was powerful enough to be heard several miles away.
BLA claimed responsibility
The victims included civilians, with multiple houses near the railway line and several vehicles sustaining extensive damage.
The illegal Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility in a statement to local media, saying a suicide bomber targeted military personnel.
Heavy gunfire was also reported following the explosion, while authorities declared an emergency at several hospitals in Quetta.
Earlier, Babar Yousafzai, special assistant for the provincial home department, said security forces and rescue teams had reached the scene as police worked to determine the nature of the explosion.
Balochistan, a mineral-rich region and a major route for the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, has long faced terrorist violence linked to separatist groups.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, saying "Such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken the resolve of the people of Pakistan."
"We remain steadfast in our determination to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," he wrote on X.
