Police said a bombing at a train station in Pakistan killed at least 24 people

adds quotes in paragraphs 3–7, updates the death toll and citations in paragraph 1, and provides context in paragraphs 9–10

INN/Quetta, @Infodeaofficial

Police and other officials told Reuters that a bombing at a train station in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, on Saturday killed at least 24 people and injured over 40 more. Pakistan is dealing with an increase in attacks by Islamist terrorists in its northwest and separatist ethnic militants in its south.

According to Mouzzam Jah Ansari, the inspector general of police for Balochistan, the explosion has claimed the lives of 24 persons thus far. He claimed that “the target was army personnel from the Infantry School,” and several of the wounded were very ill. According to hospital spokesperson Dr. Wasim Baig, “44 injured people have been brought to civil hospital so far.”

Muhammad Baloch, senior superintendent of police operations, stated that the explosion seemed to be a suicide device and that further information was being investigated. “blast took place inside the railway station when the Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination,” Baloch stated. The explosion at Quetta’s main railway station, which is typically crowded early in the morning, has not been attributed to any particular organisation.

Separatist rebels assaulted police stations, railroads, and roadways in the province of Balochistan in August, killing at least 73 people. Attacks by militants waging a decades-long insurgency to gain secession of the resource-rich southwestern province—which is home to significant China-led projects including a port and a gold and copper mine—were the most extensive in recent memory in August.