450 train passengers held hostage in Pakistan; security measures underway

At least 400 passengers have been taken hostage in a train attack in Pakistan. The attackers claimed to have killed 20 Pakistani soldiers and shot down a drone.

At least six soldiers were killed and 450 people were taken hostage after a terrorist group called the Balochistan Liberation Army attacked a train in Pakistan, a US official said.

According to a post on Telegram, the separatist militant group claimed to have taken 182 military and security personnel hostage.

The train has nine coaches. The BLA is a terrorist organization banned in Pakistan, the UK and the US. The organization has claimed responsibility for the attack. The organization said in a statement that it destroyed the railway track with an explosion, took control of the train and took all the passengers hostage. 

Six soldiers were killed in the encounter. The train driver was seriously injured in the firing. The army and security forces have reached the spot. The BLA is an organization that is working for the independence of Balochistan. Officials said that rescue workers are facing difficulty in reaching the spot due to the rocky terrain.

Train service between Quetta and Peshawar, which was suspended for a month and a half, resumed last October. Last November, a suicide bombing at Quetta railway station killed 26 people and injured 62.

In a statement, the BLA said it would take hostages from the train and "kill" them if a security operation was carried out. 

But Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti said in a statement on Tuesday evening that efforts were underway to track down the attackers and that operations would continue "until the last terrorist is eliminated."

But a new report suggests that most of the civilians on the train have been released. Security officials claim that 13 terrorists have been killed and 80 hostages have been freed.