Death toll rises to 17 in a powerful bombing at a Quetta rail station in southwestern Pakistan
UNB
Publish: 09 Nov 2024, 03:58 PM
QUETTA,
Pakistan, Nov 9 (AP/UNB) - The death toll from a powerful bombing at a Quetta
rail station in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday rose to 17, officials said.
The attack also left 30 others wounded, some critically.
A bomb exploded when
passengers were waiting for a train to travel to the garrison city of
Rawalpindi from Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan province, said
Mohammad Baloch, a senior police officer.
A separatist group, the
Balochistan Liberation Army claimed the attack in a statement, saying a suicide
bomber targeted troops present at the railway station. Police said they are
investigating the claim.
TV footage showed the
platform littered with passengers' luggage.
Ayesha Faiz, a Quetta
police official, said some of the critically wounded passengers died at a
hospital, raising the deaths.
Earlier, Shahid Rind, a
government spokesperson, said the death toll from the attack was likely to rise
as some of the wounded passengers were listed in critical condition.
Local media reported
that at least 20 people died in the bombing.
The oil- and
mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but also least populated
province. It is also a hub for the country's ethnic Baloch minority whose members
say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government. Along
with separatist groups, Islamic militants also operate in the province.
BLA often targets
security forces and foreigners, especially Chinese nationals who are in Pakistan
as part of Beijing's multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which is
building major infrastructure projects.
____