Speaking to a private news channel, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed the completion of the complex operation, elaborating that units from the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Special Services Group (SSG), army and Frontier Corps (FC) took part.Dozens of militants, affiliated with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), blew up a railway track and assaulted the Jaffar Express on Tuesday, carrying more than 400 passengers, authorities said. All 33 terrorists have been sent to hell…no harm caused to any passener during the clearance operation,” the DG ISPR said. However, he added, before the clearance operation, 21 passengers were martyred by the terrorists.All 33 terrorists killed, no passengers harmed during operation, says Lt Gen ChaudhryInter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Wednesday that the clearance operation, launched after the Jaffar Express train was attacked and hijacked, has been completed with all terrorists present
Divulging details of the incident, Lt Gen Chaudhry said the terrorists targeted a railway track in Bolan on March 11, stopped Jaffar Express and took passengers hostage. “The militants used hostages, including women and children, as human shields,” he added.
Furthermore, he said that the attackers had placed the hostages in groups with suicide bombers sitting amongst them. “The suicide bombers were taken out by security forces snipers,” he added.
“The terrorists remained in contact with their facilitators and mastermind based in Afghanistan via satellite phone during the clearance operation,” he revealed.
“Around 100 passengers were safely rescued yesterday evening from the terrorists, and today as well, a large number of passengers have been recovered,” he added.
He noted that all terrorists present on the site of the incident were killed, however, the clearance of train and area were being carried out by bomb disposal squad as per the standard operating procedure.
Besides this, Lt Gen Chaudhry said held hostages who fled to nearby areas during clearance operation were being gathered as well.
Elaborating on the final clearance operation that was conducted earlier today, the ISPR chief said the armed forces cleared the all boogies one by one and “sent 33 terrorists to hell”.
“No one can be permitted to make innocent people of Pakistan the victim of their barbarism in the streets, trains, buses or markets because of their misleading ideology,” he added,
“Whoever does this, let me say it very clearly, will be hunted down and brought to justice. Let me also say that this incident of Jaffer Express changes the rules of the game.”
The military spokesperson noted that the incident of Jaffer Express has changed the rules of the game. “Whoever did this will be hunted down and brought to justice,” he added. He added the terrorists had nothing to do with Islam, Pakistan and Balochistan.ConflictsPakistan
Pakistan: Hostages killed as Balochistan train siege ends
Zac Crellin with Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa
Published 4 hours agoPublished 4 hours agolast updated 3 hours agolast updated 3 hours ago
The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack on the Jaffar Express. Earlier, around 190 of the hostages were freed by Pakistani forces during an overnight rescue operation.
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Pakistani troops responding to an attack on the Jaffar Express train in Balochistan
Pakistani troops were able to free some of the hostages aboard the Jaffar ExpressImage: Banaras Khan/AFP/Getty Images
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A number of hostages on a train in southwestern Pakistan were killed, officials said on Wednesday, a day after insurgents attacked the train in the restive Balochistan region.
Around 450 were traveling on the Jaffar Express in the remote frontier province when it was attacked by Baloch separatists on Tuesday. Pakistani forces responded to the attack overnight.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said “people have also been martyred, but we will share details later.”
Officials said the attack has now ended and all the gunmen have been killed, as well as a number of passengers who had been taken hostage.
“Our operation has entered its final phase. All the militants have been killed, and commandos are now advancing to enter the rail cars,” a Pakistani official told Germany’s DPA news agency on condition of anonymity.
“We don’t yet know how many passengers have been killed. We still have to count the bodies,” they added.