24 Killed in Pakistan Train Station Bomb Attack
A bomb explosion shook a train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families in Balochistan province on Sunday (24 May 2026) local time. At least 24 people were reported killed and around 70 others injured in the deadly incident.
The attack occurred when a shuttle train carrying passengers from Quetta’s cantonment area was transferring to the Jaffar Express long-distance service. The explosion took place near the railway tracks in the provincial capital.
Three local government and security officials said the death toll could rise as rescue operations continue. They spoke to media on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to provide official statements.
Pakistan’s Railway Ministry stated the blast derailed the locomotive and three carriages, with two others overturned due to the force of the explosion.
“Security forces have cordoned off the area and rescue operations are ongoing,” the ministry said in a statement, cited by Reuters on Monday (25 May 2026).
A security official revealed that a vehicle carrying explosives collided with a train carriage in a residential area, resulting in fatalities among apartment residents near the blast site.
Footage and photographs from the scene showed burned vehicles, severely damaged buildings, bent metal debris, and scattered wreckage around the railway tracks, with thick black smoke rising from the ruins.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was carried out via a suicide bombing. However, the claim has not been independently verified.
The attack is the latest in a series of violence in Balochistan, a mineral-rich region bordering Iran and Afghanistan, which has been a hotspot for armed conflict between separatists and the Pakistani government in recent years.
In March 2025, the BLA hijacked the Jaffar Express train and took hundreds of passengers hostage. A day-long military operation resulted in the deaths of 21 hostages, four soldiers, and all 33 attackers.
Earlier this year, Pakistani authorities launched a 40-hour operation following coordinated attacks across Balochistan that killed nearly 50 people. The government claimed 145 militants were neutralised during the operation.