3 killed, 18 injured in attack on Quetta Express

Three passengers were killed and 18 others, including two women, were injured when some 40 armed men believed to be Baloch militants attacked Quetta Express with rockets and automatic weapons in Bolan district, some 65 kilometres southeast of Quetta on Sunday afternoon. The Quetta Express, carrying passengers from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Eid from Balochistan, was passing the mountainous area of Bolan near Landipul, some 5km from the town of Muchh, when armed men positioned in groups on the top of mountains fired three rockets at the engine of the train. Later, hundreds of bullets were fired on the cars of the train. One of the rockets hit the engine while two missed, killing three people and injuring 18 others. The driver did not stop the train despite the attack and sped up the locomotive instead. The train was stopped at Muchh, where after two and a half hours, ambulances reached from Sibi and Quetta along with administrative officials. The dead and injured were moved to Quetta. Passengers said that had the medical team reached in time, nobody would have died as all three deceased had succumbed to their injuries because of loss of blood. Later, the train continued amidst heavy security.