Security forces killed at least 16 terrorists and rescued 104 passengers after the Jaffar Express was hijacked by suspected Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) members in Pakistan's Balochistan region on Tuesday.

The gunfight between security forces and terrorists continued overnight.

Seventeen injured passengers were taken to the hospital for treatment.

It is still not clear how many hostages still remain in the custody of the terrorists in the train.

The train, with over 400 passengers on board in nine bogies, was on its way from Quetta to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when it came under attack, security sources told Ggeo News.

Railway officials told the news channel that 57 recovered passengers had been transported to Quetta.

Twenty-three other passengers remained in Mach.

The attackers are communicating with their international handlers via satellite phones, sources told Geo News.

The terrorists behind the attack first destroyed the railway track and then took the train into their custody.

The terrorists injured the driver of the train.

Railways Halt Train Service In The Area

Following the attack, Pakistan Railways suspended the operation of trains from Punjab and Sindh to Balochistan and vice versa.

PR Chief Executive Officer Amir Ali Baloch told Dawn that passenger and freight trains would remain suspended until security and law enforcement agencies notified them that the area has been cleared and the law and order situation in Balochistan had normalised.

“We are in touch with the security agencies … but I cannot share what is happening on the ground at the moment,” he said.

BLA Claims To Have Killed 30 Soldiers

The BLA group has claimed to have killed 30 Pakistani soldiers.

The BLA has demanded the release of Baloch political prisoners and missing persons whom they said were kidnapped by the military.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have condemned the incident.

BLA And Balochistan

Several insurgent groups, mostly by BLA, often target Pakistani government, army and Chinese interests in the region.

They claim the Pakistani government is unfairly exploiting the region's rich mineral and gas resources.

The region is home to one of world's largest deep-sea ports in Gwadar.

It is considered crucial for the country's regional and global trade routes.

Balochistan has witnessed an uptick in terrorist attacks over the past year. In November 2024, at least 26 people were killed and 62 injured after a suicide blast ripped through a Quetta Railway Station, reported Dawn News.

Balochistan is considered to be strategically crucial since it shares international borders with Iran to the west and Afghanistan to the north.