Police foils terror bid to bomb passenger train in Quetta

Local residents spotted unidentified men planting the bombs and immediately informed the police

QUETTA: The police have foiled a terror bid in Quetta on Saturday after recovering two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) meant to target passenger train Jaffar Express.

The passenger train, bound for Rawalpindi, had stopped at the Quetta railway station after a police official spotted explosives planted along the railway track.

“Unidentified men had planted two remote-controlled IEDs beneath the railway track to target the Jaffar express and fortunately the they were defused before the train arrived,” Capital City Police Officer Quetta (CCPO) Abdul Razzaq Cheema told reporters.

“Local residents spotted the unidentified men while they were planting the bombs on railway track and informed the local police in time,” Cheema said, while lauding the effort of local residents for helping out the police.

“It shows that Baloch people do not support militants and hate terrorism,” Cheema said while announcing a reward for the informers.

The suspects fled from the scene and left before the police arrived.

A heavy contingent of security forces along with the Bomb Disposal Squad arrived at the site and cordoned off the area, after which BDS officials de-tracked and defused the bombs.

Explosives weighting around 5kg were packed in each IED, BDS officials said.

They added that the explosive material was planted on both tracks in rectangular and round shape in order to ensure maximum damage.