Pakistan: Hostages killed after separatist militants hijack train carrying hundreds of passengers
Hostages have been killed after separatist militants hijacked a train carrying hundreds of passengers in Pakistan, authorities have said.
The Pakistan military (ISPR) said 21 hostages were killed, as well as four security force soldiers, on the train that was carrying more than 400 people.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack and said they had killed 50 people.
A Pakistani government spokesman described the attack as “an act of terrorism,” and passengers who had been freed described how gunfire was “coming from everywhere”.
ISPR director general Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry added in a statement: “Today we freed a large number of people, including women and children. The final operation was carried out with great care.”
A soldier stands guard next to a rescue train after the hijack by separatist militants. Pic: Reuters
The train was hijacked on Tuesday as it entered a tunnel in Bolan, a district in the southwestern province of Balochistan.
The Jaffar Express was packed with 440 people, including women and children, Mr Chaudhry told local broadcaster Dunya TV.
He added that “militants were in touch with their handlers and masterminds in Afghanistan via satellite phones” during the incident.
Passengers rescued by security forces from the hijacked train. Pic: AP
The train was on a 1,000-mile journey from Quetta to the city of Peshawar.
Militants blew up the railway tracks before firing at the train, killing the driver and trapping it inside a tunnel at Mashkaf.
Security forces exchanged gunfire with the militants who were wearing vests loaded with explosives.
The train was hijacked as it entered a tunnel in Bolan, Pakistan
‘God saved us’
Noor Muhammad, who was travelling with his wife, said: “First, they hit the engine with an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade).
“After that, gunfire started and explosions were heard, RPGs were used. God saved us.
“They made us get off (the train) and told us to get down or they would shoot. We got down and then they said ‘leave’.”
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Officials said a large number of the hostages had been rescued. Pic: AP
Bashir Yousaf, who was with his family, said: “Everyone was crying and passengers were shouting, everyone was lying on the floor trying to save their lives.
“The sound of gunfire was coming from everywhere, then they (insurgents) told us to get down.
“After getting off we were told not to look back. I just kept walking without looking back to save my family’s lives.”
A soldier keeps watch near to the scene of the hijacked train. Pic: AP
Mr Chaudhry added to Dunya TV that security forces “first took out some of the militants and then began clearing compartment by compartment killing the militants”.
He said the total number of militants was 33, and added that no passenger was hurt or killed during rescue operations.
However, he added that before “the final clearance,” 21 people were killed by the militants. Four Frontier Corps soldiers were also killed.
“Perpetrators will be hunted down and will be brought to justice,” he said. “This incident of the Jaffar Express changes the rules of the game.”
Soldiers and police have been deployed at sites close to the hijacking. Pic AP
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack and said security officials were “repelling” the militants, while interior minister Mohsin Naqvi called the attackers “enemies” of the country.
The BLA – designated a terrorist organisation by the UK – had demanded the release of Baloch political prisoners, activists, and missing persons within 48 hours.
It had threatened to start executing the hostages if the government did not fulfil its demands.
The group often targets infrastructure and security forces in Balochistan but has also struck in other areas, including the southern port city Karachi and the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.
World
Suspects arrested over Louvre heist ‘partially admit involvement’ – as officials address inside job theory
The two suspects arrested over the Louvre jewellery heist have “partially” confessed to their involvement in the robbery, according to a prosecutor.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed the development at a news conference on Wednesday.
Four thieves stole nine items – one of which was dropped and recovered at the scene – in a heist pulled off while the world-famous Paris museum was open to visitors on 19 October.
It took the thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels. They forced open a window and cut into cases with power tools after gaining access via a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift.
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Suspects in Louvre robbery ‘partially confessed’
Ms Beccuau also said the jewels had not yet been recovered.
“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable,” said Ms Beccuau. “Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. It’s still time to give them back.”
‘No evidence’
Ms Beccuau also addressed reports that police believe the robbery could have been an inside job.
She said that there was “no evidence the thieves benefited from inside help”.
Under French rules for organised theft, custody can run up to 96 hours. That limit is due to expire late on Wednesday, and prosecutors must charge the suspects, release them or seek a judge’s extension.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau speaks during a press conference about the investigation into the Louvre robbery. Pic: Reuters
One suspect is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010, Ms Beccuau said. He was arrested Saturday night at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket.
Ms Beccuau said that he was living in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, and was known to police mostly for road traffic offences.
The other suspect, 39, was arrested Saturday night at his home in Aubervilliers.
“There is no evidence to suggest that he was about to leave the country,” said Ms Beccuau.
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Louvre jewels ‘have not returned’
The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed, and on items the thieves left behind, she added.
Earlier, French police acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defences.
Paris police chief Patrice Faure told politicians that ageing security systems had left weak spots.
“A technological step has not been taken,” he said.
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Mr Faure also revealed that the Louvre’s authorisation to operate its security cameras quietly expired in July and had not been renewed.
He said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms, but from a cyclist outside who dialled the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.
Members of a forensic team inspect a window believed to have been used by the culprits. Pic: Reuters
Mr Faure also rejected calls for a permanent police post inside the museum, warning it would set an unworkable precedent and do little against fast and mobile thieves.
“I am firmly opposed,” he said. “The issue is not a guard at a door; it is speeding the chain of alert.”
World
Israel carries out fresh strike on Gaza and accuses Hamas of preparing ‘imminent terror attack’
The Israeli military says it has carried out a fresh strike on Gaza, in a move that will further raise concerns about the fragility of its ceasefire with Hamas.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it conducted the strike on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.
It said the site was being used to store weapons that it claimed were “intended to be used for the execution of an imminent terror attack against IDF soldiers”.
“IDF soldiers in the southern command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” a spokesperson said.
People living in Gaza City said they heard an explosion in Gaza and saw a column of smoke.
Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered earlier strikes after claiming troops had come under fire. Pic: Reuters
It comes after hospital officials said at least 104 people, including 46 children, had been killed overnight in Gaza after Israel launched new strikes.
Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after an Israeli official reported that troops had come under fire in southern Gaza.
Israel claimed a soldier was killed on Tuesday afternoon by “enemy fire” in the southern city of Rafah.
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The decision also followed Hamas’s handover on Monday of body parts that Israel said belonged to a hostage whose remains were partly recovered earlier in the conflict.
Hamas has denied any role in the Rafah shooting and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire.
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The recent ‘ferocious’ attacks are the deadliest strikes since the ceasefire agreement took hold earlier this month.
‘Nothing is going to jeopardise the ceasefire’
US President Donald Trump had said the ceasefire was not at risk, telling reporters: “As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier.”
He added: “So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back. Nothing is going to jeopardise [the ceasefire].
“You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”
Following the latest strikes, the Israeli military said it would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement. It added that it would respond firmly to “any violation”.
Donald Trump said the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was not at risk. Pic: Reuters
‘Very disappointing and frustrating’
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said on Wednesday that the attack on the Israeli soldier and the following airstrikes had been “very disappointing and frustrating for us”.
Qatar had been leading peace efforts in Gaza, along with the US and Egypt.
At the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, al-Thani said Hamas militants had been clear they were prepared to give up governance of the enclave, which they have run since 2007.
He added that Qatar had been pushing them to acknowledge that they need to disarm.
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