A suicide bombing at a train station in southwestern Pakistan on Saturday killed at least 24 people, according to a senior local government official.
Another 53 people were injured in the attack in the city of Quetta, Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat said in a statement.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group active in the region, has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. Reports said.
The blast happened on a platform at the city’s main railway station at about 9 a.m., Senior Police Superintendent Muhammad Baloch said.
Security forces have cordoned off the area, and investigations are underway.
Sarfraz Bugti, the province’s Chief Minister, has demanded a probe into the event.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a statement strongly condemning the incident.
Balochistan has had an insurgency for decades, but it has gained traction in recent years since China leased the province’s deep-water Gwadar port, the crown jewel of Beijing’s ‘Belt and Road’ infrastructure effort in Pakistan.
The BLA has been responsible for Pakistan’s bloodiest strikes this year, most recently in October when it struck a convoy of Chinese engineers and investors in Karachi, killing two Chinese people.
