Latest news with #trainattack
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan suspends train services after railway bombing in insurgency-hit Balochistan
QUETTA: Pakistan's railways on Monday suspended all train services to and from an insurgency-hit southwestern province for four days after separatists blew up a railway track, derailing six cars of a passenger train, officials said. No one was harmed in the attack Sunday in Mastung, a district in Balochistan, said railways spokesman Ikram Ullah. Engineers were repairing the damaged track, he said. The Jaffer Express was traveling from Quetta, the provincial capital, to the northern city of Peshawar when assailants targeted it with a bomb, Ullah said. The banned Baloch Liberation Army, in a statement, claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes months after BLA fighters hijacked a train in the same district, killing 21 hostages before security forces were able to kill 33 assailants. The attack came as Pakistan prepares to mark its 78th Independence Day on Aug. 14. Balochistan has long been the scene of insurgency by separatists seeking independence from the central government. The province is also home to militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban. Local administrator Shahid Khan said the government imposed curfews in some areas of the district of Bajaur along the Afghan border in the troubled northwest and advised residents to stay indoors, prompting many to flee to safer places in preparation for a possible security operation against the Pakistani Taliban. Bajaur was once a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and the group has resurfaced there. TTP is a separate group but closely allied to the Afghan Taliban.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Pakistan suspends train services after railway bombing in insurgency-hit Balochistan
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan's railways on Monday suspended all train services to and from an insurgency-hit southwestern province for four days after separatists blew up a railway track, derailing six cars of a passenger train, officials said. No one was harmed in the attack Sunday in Mastung, a district in Balochistan, said railways spokesman Ikram Ullah. Engineers were repairing the damaged track, he said. The Jaffer Express was traveling from Quetta, the provincial capital, to the northern city of Peshawar when assailants targeted it with a bomb, Ullah said. The banned Baloch Liberation Army, in a statement, claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes months after BLA fighters hijacked a train in the same district, killing 21 hostages before security forces were able to kill 33 assailants. The attack came as Pakistan prepares to mark its 78th Independence Day on Aug. 14. Balochistan has long been the scene of insurgency by separatists seeking independence from the central government. The province is also home to militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban. Local administrator Shahid Khan said the government imposed curfews in some areas of the district of Bajaur along the Afghan border in the troubled northwest and advised residents to stay indoors, prompting many to flee to safer places in preparation for a possible security operation against the Pakistani Taliban. Bajaur was once a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and the group has resurfaced there. TTP is a separate group but closely allied to the Afghan Taliban.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
IED explosion derails five Jaffar Express train coaches in southwestern Pakistan
KARACHI: An improvised explosive device (IED) blast derailed five coaches of the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express in southwestern Balochistan province on Sunday, Pakistan Railways confirmed in yet another attack targeting the train. The IED blast took place on a train track near Quetta's Spezand Railway Station on Sunday morning, the railways said in a press release. It added that five coaches of the 39-Up Jaffar Express train, which runs from Quetta to Peshawar, had been derailed while all passengers remained safe. 'Railway and security teams are present at the scene, and rescue operations have begun,' the statement said. It said the railway administration will bring passengers back to the southwestern city of Quetta in light of the security situation, adding that train operations from Quetta will resume after authorities provide security clearance. Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi condemned the attack. 'Terrorists' cowardly acts cannot weaken our resolve,' Abbasi said in a statement issued by railways. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. This is the fourth incident involving Jaffar Express since it resumed operations in March, following a rare hijacking by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) separatist militants with 400 passengers aboard. The hijacking in the rugged Bolan mountain range ended on March 12 after an hours-long military operation that killed 33 militants and rescued hostages. The standoff also left 23 soldiers, three railway staff and five passengers dead. In June, the train narrowly avoided a disaster when a bogie of its power van derailed near Shikarpur's Mandi Phatak area, according to a report by the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan. In late July, at least one person was injured when an explosion derailed three coaches of the train in Pakistan's southern Sindh province. The coaches derailed in Sindh's Shikarpur district after the explosion damaged part of the railway track, halting railway operations briefly. The train narrowly escaped disaster on Thursday when a bomb planted near the track close to Sibi Railway Station exploded, just after the Jaffar Express passed. Pakistan's railway system faces frequent derailments due to poor maintenance and militant attacks targeting rail tracks, especially in the Sindh and Balochistan provinces. These incidents underscore an urgent need for infrastructure and security upgrades across the rail network.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
Four people injured in hammer attack on German train, police say
A man on a long-distance train in southern Germany attacked and slightly injured four people with a hammer before he was detained by police, authorities said. Police in Straubing said the attack happened on an ICE express train headed to the Austrian capital, Vienna, while it was between Straubing and Plattling in the southern state of Bavaria. About 500 people were on board when the attack happened, police said. About 150 police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to the scene, police added. The railway line was closed down. Police initially said the perpetrator used an axe in the attack but later said he allegedly used a hammer and most likely other weapons which they did not name. They identified the man as a 20-year-old Syrian national. Police did not provide further details on the identity of the attacker or his motive, but later said that he was overpowered by fellow passengers and had also been injured. The perpetrator 'is probably somewhat more seriously injured', a police spokesperson told German news agency dpa. He was in police custody and receiving medical treatment. The four injured passengers, who were not identified, were taken to nearby hospitals. According to the Bavarian Red Cross, the emergency services were alerted at around 2pm local time on Thursday, after passengers pulled the emergency brakes. The Red Cross said a special care centre was set up nearby to take care of passengers. In addition to numerous rescue services and two helicopters, psychological caregivers were deployed to help those who were not injured but might have been traumatised. German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said in a statement that 'our thoughts and sympathy are with the injured and all those who now have to come to terms with what they have experienced', and thanked the emergency services for the quick arrest of the suspect.
BreakingNews.ie
03-07-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Four people injured in hammer attack on German train, police say
A man on a long-distance train in southern Germany attacked and slightly injured four people with a hammer before he was detained by police, authorities said. Police in Straubing said the attack happened on an ICE express train headed to the Austrian capital, Vienna, while it was between Straubing and Plattling in the southern state of Bavaria. Advertisement About 500 people were on board when the attack happened, police said. About 150 police officers, firefighters and emergency personnel were deployed to the scene, police added. The railway line was closed down. Police initially said the perpetrator used an axe in the attack but later said he allegedly used a hammer and most likely other weapons which they did not name. They identified the man as a 20-year-old Syrian national. Police did not provide further details on the identity of the attacker or his motive, but later said that he was overpowered by fellow passengers and had also been injured. Advertisement The perpetrator 'is probably somewhat more seriously injured', a police spokesperson told German news agency dpa. He was in police custody and receiving medical treatment. The four injured passengers, who were not identified, were taken to nearby hospitals. According to the Bavarian Red Cross, the emergency services were alerted at around 2pm local time on Thursday, after passengers pulled the emergency brakes. The Red Cross said a special care centre was set up nearby to take care of passengers. In addition to numerous rescue services and two helicopters, psychological caregivers were deployed to help those who were not injured but might have been traumatised. Advertisement German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said in a statement that 'our thoughts and sympathy are with the injured and all those who now have to come to terms with what they have experienced', and thanked the emergency services for the quick arrest of the suspect.
