A separatist militant group on Sunday claimed responsibility for a powerful blast that targeted a passenger train in south-western Pakistan, with conflicting death tolls reported after the attack in the restive province of Balochistan.
A police spokesman told dpa that at least 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in the blast in Quetta, the provincial capital.
The Pakistani newspaper Dawn later cited a preliminary provincial government report as saying at least 14 people were killed and 20 wounded in a suicide attack that hit the train. Dawn reported that three soldiers were among the dead.
A sub-group of the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which is fighting for the independence of Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack in a post on social media platform X and offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
A state of emergency has been declared in all public and private hospitals in the city, a provincial government spokesman said. He said at least three coaches and the engine had derailed after the explosion. Security forces have cordoned off the area and a rescue operation was under way, he said.
Violence has surged in Pakistan recently. Terrorist attacks often target state security forces as part of the fight against the state.
Balochistan is considered Pakistan’s poorest province. Separatists have been fighting for independence there since shortly after Pakistan was founded.
Last year, a train carrying hundreds of security forces and their families was hijacked by the banned BLA. At least two dozen passengers and soldiers were killed in a days-long battle to free the hostages.
The BLA is the largest of several militant groups fighting for the independence of Balochistan from Pakistan. The group has also been behind violence particularly targeting multi-billion-dollar Chinese infrastructure projects.