A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a train station in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday (November 9), killing at least 24 people, including soldiers and railway staff, and injuring around 50 others, many critically, according to Reuters. The attack occurred at the busy station in the city of Quetta, the capital of the restive Balochistan province, where nearly 100 passengers were waiting for a train to Rawalpindi, a garrison city in northern Pakistan.
According to Hamza Shafqaat, a senior government official, the blast targeted a crowd of passengers, and police confirmed that a dozen soldiers and six railway employees were among the dead.
A video is being widely shared on social media platforms, including by Sputnik India, which captured the explosion at the crowded railway station in Pakistan today morning, sparking widespread panic among those present. Television footage from the scene showed the devastation, with the platform’s steel roof shattered and debris, including scattered luggage, covering the area. A tea stall was also destroyed in the blast.
Pakistan bomb blast viral video
Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility
The separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the bombing, stating that the suicide bomber had specifically targeted military personnel stationed at the site. The BLA has been waging an insurgency in the region for years, demanding greater autonomy or independence from the Pakistani state.
Ayesha Faiz, a police official in Quetta, reported that some of the critically injured passengers later succumbed to their wounds in the hospital, raising the death toll. Shahid Rind, a government spokesperson, confirmed that all the wounded were promptly transported to medical facilities for treatment.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in a statement, vowing that those responsible would “pay a very heavy price” and reaffirming the government’s commitment to eradicating terrorism. The bombing occurred just over a week after a motorcycle bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying police officers guarding polio workers in Balochistan, killing nine, including five children.