Twin explosions kill six in Pakistan’s Balochistan

Six people have been killed in twin explosions claimed by the separatist Baloch Liberation Army in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan.

The blasts occurred as a passenger train transporting military personnel was passing the town of Much, about 55 kilometers east of Quetta, Balochistan’s provincial capital, on Friday.

“The explosions damaged two passenger carriages and killed six people besides wounding 19 others,” said Imtiaz Ahmad, a senior local official with the Pakistan Railways, citing the final list of casualties.

Reports initially said only three people had been killed in the attack on the train that was bound for Rawalpindi.

A spokesman for the Baloch Liberation Army claimed the attack, saying the assault had targeted “military personnel who travel to Rawalpindi by this train.”

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif condemned the blasts and “directed authorities concerned to find the culprits and bring them to task immediately,” said a statement issued by the office of the Pakistani premier.

Pakistan’s restive and mineral-rich Balochistan province is rife with separatist, extremist and sectarian violence and has been the scene of several bomb and gun attacks over the past years.

On October 4, gunmen opened fire on a bus transporting Shia Muslims on the outskirts of Quetta. Four women were killed in the attack.