Over two dozen killed in blast at railway station in Pakistan's Quetta
Pakistani separatists have killed at least 25 people in a bombing targeting a railway station in Balochistan province, local officials and a terrorist group say.
The blast on Saturday hit as passengers waited on a platform at the main railway station in the provincial capital Quetta.
"Fourteen army personnel are among the 25 confirmed dead," said Muhammad Baloch, a senior local police official.
A spokesperson for a local hospital said 46 people wounded in the blast had been brought to the facility, along with multiple dead.
The toll of Saturday's blast was particularly high for the southwestern province which is the target of frequent attacks.
Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani denounced the attack, calling the perpetrators "enemies of humanity," and emphasized the government's commitment to eliminate terrorism.
The attack was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of the area's main militant groups. The group frequently claims deadly attacks against security forces or Pakistanis from other provinces, notably Punjabis.
The resource-rich Balochistan province in Pakistan is a transit route, bordering Afghanistan to the north, and Iran to the west.
On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran and Islamabad were resolved to enhance their cooperation in combating terrorism after consultations with Pakistani officials in Islamabad.
“Very good meetings were held and very good agreements were made. We had an exchange of views about the region. Fortunately, the positions of Iran and Pakistan are very much in harmony with each other concerning the developments in the region,” he told reporters at the end of an official visit.
Last month, ten Iranian border guards were killed in a terrorist attack in the country’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan close to the border with Pakistan.
Terrorists have in the past targeted Pakistan's energy projects with foreign financing, most notably from China.
In August, the BLA claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks by dozens of assailants who killed at least 39 people, one of the highest tolls to hit the region.
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