Pakistan Army says 300 hostages released from the train

The Pakistani army states that it has released more than 300 hostages from a passenger train confiscated by militants in Balochistan province on Tuesday.

A press secretary of the military said 33 militants were killed during the operation.

Before the operation began, twenty-one civil hostages and four troops were killed, the Belach Liberation Army (BLA) was killed, the military spokesman said.

The military continues their search operation in the area to exclude any other threats.

Pakistani authorities, as well as several Western countries, including the UK and the United States, have been appointed BLA as a terrorist organization.

BLA is one of the insurgent groups that require either more autonomy or Independence for Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan.

They accuse Islamabad of using the province’s wealthy mineral resources, and neglecting it. In the past, they attacked military camps, railway stations and trains – but this is the first time they touched the train.

At least 100 those on the train were members of security forces, officials said.

The militants threatened to kill the hostages unless the authorities released the political prisoners for 48 hours, the local reports said.