Baloch Separatists Bomb Train In Pakistan, Killing At Least Three

Pakistani soldiers stand near a train at the site of two explosions in the town of Mach, 55 kilometers east of Balochistan's provincial capital Quetta.

Explosions targeting military personnel on a passenger train killed at least three people and wounded 13 others in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on October 7, officials said.

The attack, claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army, came as the Rawalpindi-bound Jaffer Express was passing the town of Much, 55 kilometers east of Balochistan's provincial capital Quetta.

"We have rushed the rescue teams to the accident site," said provincial Home Secretary Akbar Harifal, who added that the identity of the passengers was not immediately clear.

A spokesman for the Baloch Liberation Army said the attack had targeted "military personnel who travel to Rawalpindi by this train."

Oil- and gas-rich Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan, and has been roiled for years by violent separatist, sectarian, and Islamist insurgencies.

Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif "strongly condemned the attack and directed authorities concerned to find the culprits and bring them to task immediately."

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters