A passenger train in Pakistan derailed after a bomb blast, leaving at least 15 passengers injured.
The bomb exploded when the Jaffar Express passenger train was passing through the Bolan district in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan.
According to a local official, the train engine and eight train cars were derailed due to the bomb blast.
The train was travelling to Peshawar, the capital of the north-western province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Aljazeera reported.
Bolan district deputy commissioner Agha Samiullah was quoted by the news organisation as saying: “We have shifted those with minor injuries to the Civil-Military Hospital in nearby city of Sibi, while the two gravely injured people were sent to Quetta.
“The rescue operation would be completed soon and expressed hope that the railway track will be operational later at night. We are sending the passengers to Quetta city by bus.”
Engineers are said to have initiated repairs to the damaged rail tracks at the site.
The separatist Baluchistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for the attack, The Washington Post reported.
Azad Baloch, a spokesman for the group was quoted by the publication as saying: “Their fighters targeted security forces traveling by train to the garrison city of Rawalpindi in eastern Punjab province.”
However, government and military officials did not immediately comment on the claims made by the separatist group.
