At least 23 people have been killed and 70 wounded after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a railway track as a passenger train passed in Pakistan.
The attack happened in the southwestern city of Quetta on Sunday.
The force of the blast caused two train carriages to overturn and catch fire, sending thick black smoke into the air, according to footage shared online.
The blast hit an area where security forces are usually stationed, badly damaging nearby buildings and wrecking more than a dozen parked vehicles, according to witnesses and images shared on social media.
Doctors at local hospitals said they had received the wounded, with 20 in a critical condition.
The banned Baloch Liberation Army, or BLA, which wants independence from Pakistan’s central government, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had targeted a train carrying security personnel.
Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province, which has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency.
The oil and mineral-rich region has frequently seen attacks on security forces, government buildings and civilians.
“We strongly condemn the targeting of innocent civilians and are deeply saddened by the loss of precious human lives. Terrorist elements deserve no leniency,” Shahid Rind, Balochistan provincial government spokesman, said.
He said following the explosion, a medical emergency was declared at hospitals in Quetta, and an investigation has been launched.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack, calling it a “cowardly act of terrorism” in a post on X and offering condolences to the families of the victims.
Although Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence in Baluchistan has persisted.
At least 26 people, including soldiers, were killed in 2024 when a suicide bomber attacked a train station in Balochistan.
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