Pakistani forces rescue 155 train passengers taken hostage by militants

 IRNA – Pakistani forces have rescued 155 passengers who were taken hostage after militants took over a train in southwest Pakistan, while the militants still hold others.

The Jaffar Express train was en route from southwestern Balochistan province to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when militants opened fire on it, officials said on Tuesday. The train reportedly carried more than 400 passengers, including women and children.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to begin executing the hostages unless Baloch political prisoners, activists, and missing persons it claimed had been abducted by the military were released within 48 hours.

Reuters cited security sources as saying that 27 militants had been killed so far. At least 10 passengers, including the train driver, have been killed as well, the sources said.

The government said on Wednesday that a security operation was under way to free the other hostages, without specifying the exact number. They described their continuing efforts as a “complex operation.”