Train attack in Balochistan leaves two dead

After Levies officials reached the scene, there was a cross-fire between the security officers and the attackers.

MACHH: Two people—railway police constable and a passenger, were killed and six others, including two women, wounded after Quetta-Lahore bound Akbar Bugti passenger train was attacked by militants positioned on mountain top in Bolan District of Balochistan on Monday.

Militants on a mountain top in Bolan fired rocket propelled grenades and fired with automatic weapons on a passenger train coming to Quetta from Lahore. The intense firing and rocket attacks resulted in killing two people and injured six others.

“Two people, including a railway police constable, had died while six passengers sustained injuries,” Home Secretary Asad Gillani told The Express Tribune.

Personnel of Balochistan Levies and paramilitary troops Frontier Corps (FC) reached the spot soon after hearing gunshots. The attackers managed to flee from the scene.

The train was stopped and the dead and injured were shifted to Civil Hospital Mach Town. “We received two dead bodies and six injured,” hospital sources said.

The injured were shifted to Provincial Sandeman Hospital Quetta for treatment. The dead were identified as Railway police constable Mohammed Ali and Mohammed Nadeem, resident of Punjab.

Home Secretary Balochistan said that security forces have launched a search operation in the area to trace the militants who carried out the attack. He said that injured are being shifted to Quetta for treatment.

Baloch militants usually target passenger trains in Bolan and Naseerabad Division. However, there have been no claims of responsibilities for the latest attack.

According to PR official, the train left for Quetta after two hours as the security forces cleared the area. “The rail services are not affected due the attack,” said Mohammed Kashif, an official of PR.