Sindh [Pakistan], January 28 : An explosion struck the Jaffar Express in Pakistan's Sindh province on Monday, derailing four coaches of the train, officials said, after a Baloch armed outfit claimed responsibility for the assault, according to a report by The Balochistan Post (TBP).
Railway officials said the blast occurred at Abad railway station as the Peshawar-bound train was travelling from Quetta toward Sukkur.
"Four bogies of the train were derailed because of the force of the explosion," an official said. Authorities had not released any information on casualties at the time of reporting.
The Jaffar Express, which operates between Quetta, Punjab and Peshawar, has been repeatedly targeted over the past year by Baloch armed groups, who claim the train is frequently used to transport serving and reserve personnel of Pakistan's armed forces.
In March last year, fighters of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) seized the Jaffar Express, holding hundreds of passengers hostage. The group later asserted that more than 200 Pakistani military personnel were killed during the operation, TBP reported.
After the hijacking, the train faced several further attacks and repeated service suspensions. In response to increased threats, Pakistani authorities implemented extra security measures, including specially designed security coaches for personnel assigned to guard the train.
The Baloch Republican Guards (BRG), which has repeatedly targeted the train since the March hijacking, claimed responsibility for the latest attack. BRG spokesperson Dostain Baloch said fighters planted an improvised explosive device (IED) and detonated it remotely at Sultan Kot, a town located between Shikarpur and Jacobabad, the TBP report highlighted.
He said the train was attacked at a time when Pakistani military personnel were travelling on board, claiming several were killed or wounded and that multiple carriages overturned. Pakistani authorities have not verified the casualty claims. The BRG statement said the group would continue such attacks "until the independence of Balochistan is achieved, as cited by the TBP report.