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Hostages on the hijacked Jaffar Express train were freed. The hostage situation resulted in the killing of 28 military personnel who were onboard the train, and 33 militants involved in the act.
Ambulances seen carrying rescued/freed hostages after a train in Pakistan was hijacked (Photo: AP)
The hostage situation on the hijacked Jaffar Express train in restive southwestern Pakistan ended on Wednesday night. According to what a Pakistan army official told news agency AFP, all 346 hostages were freed and 33 Separatist Baloch militants (all of whom were involved in the hijack) were killed during the operation.
He also said that 27 off-duty soldiers who were passengers on the train were killed by militants, while one was killed during the operation.
Reuters also quoted the military as saying that 21 hostages and four security troops were killed over the course of the standoff.
The killing of the militants was also confirmed by army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, and the country’s Federal Minister for Information, Attaullah Tarar, according to news agency PTI.
ALSO READ | ‘Won’t Shake Pakistan’s Resolve’: Shehbaz Sharif’s First Reaction To Jaffar Express Hijacking
As the standoff concluded, Sharif told Reuters that the operation was carried out with “great care” as there were also women and children among the hostages.
“Today we freed a large number of people, including women and children… The final operation was carried out with great care,” Chaudhry said, adding that no civilians were killed in the final stage of the operation.
The militants were reported to be wearing suicide vests and were sitting among the passengers, holding them hostage, and using them as human shields.
According to what junior Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry told Geo television, the military sent in hundreds of troops to free the hostages.
The military also deployed the air force and special forces to tackle the militants, he said.
As the operation neared its conclusion, special forces first took out the suicide bombers before troops went from carriage to carriage to kill the rest of the militants, Chaudhry said.
It was not known where the passengers were first taken after being evacuated.
Balochistan Video Captures The Moment Rebels Attacked Jaffar Express, Triggered Blast And Took Hostages
The Jaffar Express train was attacked on Tuesday (March 11) and militants blew up the railway track and hurled rockets at the locomotive when it was on its way to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from Balochistan’s capital of Quetta.
According to Reuters, the train was carrying 440 people at the time of the attack.
The train was hijacked near the mountainous terrain of Gudalar and Piru Kunri in a tunnel 160 kilometres from Quetta.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack on March 11 when they said they killed six soldiers.
ALSO READ | ‘BLA Shot Soldiers In Front Of Me’: Freed Pakistan Train Hijack Hostage Recounts Terrifying Ordeal
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