Pakistan's Security Forces Fight to Free 250 Hostages Aboard a Hijacked Train

Pakistani forces were in a tense standoff on Wednesday with hundreds of militants holding about 250 people hostage on a train they had hijacked in the remote southwest the day before, officials said.

- Associated Press

QUETTA: The security forces held off from full-out battles as militants wearing vests loaded with explosives had barricaded themselves inside the train with the hostages.

The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday in a tunnel in Bolan, a district in restive Balochistan province. Its spokesman Jeeyand Baloch said the group was ready to free passengers if authorities agree to release jailed militants.

There has been no comment from the government, which has rejected such demands in the past.

At least 30 militants were killed in initial exchanges of gunfire since Tuesday. By late Wednesday, security forces had rescued 190 of the 450 passengers who were initially on the train, according to three senior security officials.

Helicopters were backing up Pakistani forces in the rugged region, said spokesman Shahid Rind, describing the attack as "an act of terrorism".