At the time of filing this report, at least 24 people have been killed, with over 40 others injured in a bomb blast at a railway station in Quetta in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday, according to the police and other officials.
Pakistan is currently dealing with a surge in strikes by separatist ethnic militants in the Balochistan province in the south and Islamist militants in its northwest.
Inspector general of police for Balochistan, Mouzzam Jah Ansari, had said that the target was army personnel from the Infantry School, adding that many of the injured in critical condition.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group has already claimed responsibility for the attack according to a statement it emailed to Reuters.
The BLA is fighting for independence for Balochistan, a province of about 15 million people that shares borders with Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west.
The BLA is also the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups fighting the government, claiming that it unfairly exploits the province’s rich gas and mineral resources.
Senior superintendent of police operations, Muhammad Baloch, said the blast seemed to be a suicide bomb and that investigations were underway for more information.
“The blast took place inside the railway station when the Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination,” Baloch said.
