The death toll from a suspected suicide attack on a train in southwestern Pakistan has risen to at least 28, as five more injured died in local hospitals, Anadolu reports.

The number of injured also rose to 90, some of them in critical condition.

According to sources, the suicide bomber, believed to have acted alone, rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into the train that it was also transporting military personnel to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.

The explosion occurred along the railway line as the train headed towards the city’s military zone.

Officials said the blast was so powerful it could be heard several kilometers away.

Civilians were among the victims, while several houses near the railway and several vehicles suffered heavy damage.

Army The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement to local media, noting that a suicide bomber had targeted military personnel.

Multiple gunshots were also reported after the blast, while authorities declared a state of emergency in several hospitals in the city of Quetta.

Earlier, Babar Yousafzai, special assistant to the provincial interior department, said the forces security and rescue teams had arrived at the scene as police worked to determine the nature of the blast.

Balochistan, a mineral-rich region and a major route for the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, has long grappled with militant violence linked to separatist groups.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, stating that “such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken it the determination of the people of Pakistan.”

“We remain steadfast in our determination to eliminate terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he wrote on the American social network X.

Source: prizrenpost